Blackmail
by Zyler
Summary: It's been a couple years since Cipher's defeat at the hands of Wes and Rui. Team Snagem, desperate for revenge against their runaway member, is on the move again, while the Cipher Admins lurk in the shadows beyond: vengeance will be served. Wes/Rui.
1. How It All Began

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction, now, would I?

* * *

An icy breeze rustled through the empty alleys of Pyrite, before dying away. The desert around Pyrite was blisteringly hot during the day, but now it was night; and at night the sub-zero temperatures of the desert were cold enough to kill. 

Trotting through the nameless alleys was a small brown Pokemon that slightly resembled a fox with its bushy tail and pointed ears. It was rare to see a Pokemon without a Trainer wandering the streets—all of Orre was barren of Pokemon, its desert conditions being too harsh even for rock- and ground-types.

The little Pokemon paused, sniffing the air tentatively. There was a strange odor on the breeze, one that it did not recognize.

Suddenly a huge shadowy figure stepped out of the gloom, looking down at the little Pokemon. A human. Completely bald and wearing pants and a vest despite the freezing weather, the man peered down at the little Pokemon with mild interest.

"An Eevee, eh?"

Startled, the Eevee turned and fled, scampering up an alley and turning down another, unaware of the massive man following at a leisurely pace.

The Eevee saw a much smaller figure up ahead, and let out a small, sharp cry of warning. The figure turned just in time as the Eevee bounded into his arms, trembling slightly. The little boy looked down at the Eevee curiously, wondering what could have upset the minuscule Pokemon, as a second Eevee came to sit calmly at his feet silently.

The man stopped when he saw the boy and the two Eevees looking back at him from across the alley. "Two Eevees and a kid?"

He sized the boy up. It was obvious the kid was living in the alleys. He was covered in smudges from dirt and grim, though it was possible to make out that he had spiky, sandy-blond colored hair. He was very thin—most likely underfed—and his clothes were torn and filthy. He couldn't have been over seven years old.

"Are those two yours?"

The boy didn't answer, looking back at the man silently. He could tell the kid was on the verge of running; his muscles were tense and ready.

"Listen, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you or anything, alright? I just asked you a question, and I want an answer. Are those two Eevees yours?"

The boy gave a short nod, still watching him warily.

"Alright." Now they were getting somewhere. "By the looks of you, you're homeless and you've got no money. Am I right?"

"I'm not selling them." The boy's voice might have been small, but it was firm.

The man smiled like an alligator. "You're a smart kid. Don't worry, I'm not going to try and take them from you," he added when the kid tensed again. "How about all three of you come with me?"

The boy gave him a wary look.

The man held up his hands, still grinning. "I told you; you're a smart kid. I could use somebody like you."

"Who are you?"

"The name's Gonzap. Now that you know my name, how about giving me yours, kid?"

"Wes." He paused. "You're the leader of that gang. Team Snagem."

Gonzap laughed. "I knew you were smart. If you come with me, kid, and join my Team, it'll get you off the streets. You'll have a chance to earn some cash, and train those Eevees of yours."

"And if I say no?"

"No?" Gonzap laughed again. "I don't see why you'd want to say no, kid. It'd give you a life." He looked around the alley in an exaggerated fashion. "Unless this is what you call a life." He smirked. "But if the case really were extreme…I'd just pull this out and shoot you and your little rats both." He drew a gun and held it lazily in one hand.

The kid—Wes—shifted slightly, eyeing the gun warily. "You said you weren't going to hurt us."

Gonzap laughed. "Change of plan, kid. So what's it gonna be?"

Wes glared up at him. There was no way out of this. "Fine."

Gonzap grinned once more. "You're not a bad kid, Wes. At least not yet. Come on."

The hulking man herded the little boy through the twisting network of alleys, and out of Pyrite altogether, disappearing out into the vast desert of Orre.

* * *

Rui blinked wearily several times to get herself awake, before realizing it was still very early in the morning—namely, midnight. With a small sigh, she rolled out of bed to her feet, stretching. She was too restless to try and fall back asleep. 

She stepped out of her bedroom, dressed only in black sweatpants and a small white shirt. The entire house was silent as she made her way down the hall and into the kitchen. The moon was full and streamed in through the windows brightly, so she felt no need to flick on any of the lights.

Two years after helping stop the criminal Cipher organization from turning Pokemon into evil Shadow monsters, and she could still clearly remember every detail of the adventure. She had long since moved out of her grandparent's house, buying a house in the suburbs of Phenac. Rui paused next to the kitchen counter, running her hand across the cool surface absently, lost in thought.

Wistfully, she wished she had seen more of Wes. Her partner in justice—she rolled her eyes, thinking of it like that—he had been the one who had really saved all those Pokemon from their shadowy fate. An ex-member of Team Snagem, he had saved Rui from two thugs so long ago in the entrance to Phenac, and she had stuck with him since.

But after the triumph of victory over Cipher had died down, and people slowly began to resume their normal, daily lives again, Wes had slipped away. There were many rumors that Team Snagem was still out there, somewhere on the desert, along with Cipher, and was trying to reform and become strong again.

Wes being their number one target.

So he had slipped away, with his impossibly strong Espeon and Umbreon, to lay low somewhere in the region of Orre. Rui had only seen him three times since the day the two of them—well, mainly he had—defeated Cipher: once on each of her past two birthdays, and once a couple days after defeating Cipher. She hadn't seen him since.

Rui made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room. It was true; she had always had a sort of crush on him. Ever since he had rescued her from the two thugs, releasing her from the sack she had been so unceremoniously tied up in. She worried about him daily, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Suddenly much wearier than she had felt a few minutes ago, Rui sank down onto the couch. Her restlessness had left her, and now she was finally ready to sleep. Curling up near the arm of the couch with one of the pillows, she dropped very easily off into sleep.

* * *

The early morning sun was still not quite hot enough to bring up the cold night temperatures of Orre all the way to scorching, leaving a sort of frost in the windows of Phenac, and a slight mist in the air. People were already wandering the streets, but it was still quiet: the low murmur before the big roar of crowds that would fill Phenac's streets later in the day; all people most likely just shopping. 

Wes leaned against the side of a building that housed a little coffee shop, just inside the entrance of an alley. Not exactly tall, but not short either, he was thin but fit, dressed in all black except for the deep blue trench coat that he had had since he couldn't remember when. He had long since ditched the shiny sunglasses—they were too big and drew far too much attention—and his sandy-blond hair had grown out a little.

His golden, hawk-like eyes moved over every detail of the street and coffee shop, silently watching. He hadn't been in Phenac for awhile—he had only arrived around midnight, really—and was gratified to see that it hadn't changed much. The people were much cleaner and friendlier than people in Pyrite, and water still flowed easily through the fountains and little trenches, making Phenac a true oasis.

Espeon sat near his feet, proud and dignified. The little lavender-colored Pokemon had her eyes shut, censoring the street with her psychic powers and listening with her long ears.

Wes knew he ought to go visit Rui, since she lived in Phenac now, but he wasn't in the mood for her questions and sympathetic looks at the moment. He'd go to her a little later; it was still pretty early. She would know he was here anyway. That was probably where Umbreon had gotten to. Rui's house.

Espeon shifted and opened her eyes, its tail swishing calmly. She stood and stretched like a cat, her soft lavender fur catching the sunlight brilliantly. Still standing, she looked up at Wes placidly.

"What?"

Espeon flicked her tail against Wes's leg, giving him what he could have swore was an amused look.

Wes pushed himself off the wall, stretching too. He had been in that position for a long time, and hadn't even noticed. Long practice.

"Alright. You lead."

Espeon flicked him with her tail again, before trotting out of the entrance of the alley and into the car-less street. Wes followed calmly, though his eyes still picked up every single detail on the surrounding street.


	2. Back Again

Okay, back again for more.

Disclaimer: I'm telling you. If I really owned any of this, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic. Heh.

* * *

Rui woke slowly to discover she was still out on the couch in the living room, due to her midnight wandering. She climbed to her feet, stretching luxuriously in the sunlight that streamed in through the windows from the morning sun, before heading back into her bedroom to take a shower. 

A few minutes later—Rui had never been one for long showers—she emerged into the kitchen, fully dressed with wet hair. She swiped one of those little breakfast bars she had bought at the store yesterday, figuring she might as well have something for breakfast.

As she unwrapped it, she could have sworn she heard something scratch on the window in the living room. Taking a bite, Rui curiously crept back into the living room, peering at all the windows.

Umbreon popped out of nowhere, sitting cat-like on the outside ledge of the window, his deep red eyes regarding her in amusement.

"Umbreon!" Forgetting the breakfast bar, Rui quickly opened the window to allow the little black Pokemon inside.

Umbreon bounded inside, landing gracefully on the carpet. He eagerly sniffed around the living room as Rui shut the window, his tail waving absently in the air.

"Thought you'd beat him over, huh?" Rui grinned down at the Pokemon.

Umbreon glanced at her, gave his tail a half-wave, and continued sniffing.

Rui gave Umbreon an affectionate pat, and then went into the kitchen, throwing the remainder of her breakfast bar into the trash. She wasn't that hungry anymore.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Rui went to answer it with a small smile. She pulled the door open.

Wes stood there leisurely, emotionless as ever, with Espeon sitting next to him regally. But Rui knew him well enough to detect a slight glimmer of pleasure and amusement in his golden eyes.

"Can I help you?" Rui asked, with a tiny grin.

"Rui." If he had been less emotionless, Rui would have guessed that Wes would have rolled his eyes at her. "Is Umbreon in there?"

"Look for yourself." With a tiny laugh, Rui stood back to let him in.

Wes brushed past her, slipping into the house, Espeon stepping in neatly beside him. Almost immediately a black blur raced out of the living room, jumping at Wes energetically. Wes caught him easily, holding the black Pokemon like a baby.

Laughing, Rui pulled the door shut. "He was outside my window," she explained, leading them into the kitchen, "Sitting on the windowsill like a bird. So I let him in."

"Obnoxious." Wes sounded dry, but Rui could tell he was silently amused as he let Umbreon drop to the floor to join Espeon.

"Adorable." Rui had always liked Espeon and Umbreon. Truthfully, Umbreon was friendlier, but she also liked Espeon's regal attitude. The two of them made her laugh often.

"Looks are deceiving." For that particular wry comment, Wes received a gentle swat from both Pokemon.

"So what brings you back to Phenac?" Rui asked him as he sank down into one of the chairs at the counter looking into the kitchen. Rui herself was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter near the sink, watching him. "You haven't been back in a long time."

"You," he answered truthfully, leaning back in the chair lazily. "And I needed a change from the Under and Pyrite."

Rui gave a soft laugh. "I don't see how that couldn't be desirable."

Wes gave a slight nod. "And because they were getting warmer."

Rui looked at him, worried. "They found you?"

"No. But they're getting a little too close for comfort."

"So Team Snagem is back for sure?"

At the sound of the Team's name, Espeon gave a soft hiss and Umbreon bared his tiny white fangs, both of them flicking their tails.

Wes jerked his shoulders in a shrug, merely glancing at the Pokemon to silence them. "I don't know. Not back in action, yet, but definitely looking for me."

"You have to be careful," Rui warned, still worried, "There's no telling what they'll do if they catch you. Especially after what you've done to them."

"They deserved it," Wes answered dismissively. "But if they catch me…Knock me around, beat me up—"

"_Kill_ you," Rui interjected hotly.

"—Force me to rejoin."

Rui stared. "What?"

"Gonzap might hate me at the moment, but he's not entirely stupid. I was the best member he had, and he wouldn't have forgotten that, Rui."

"But surely you don't think he'd ask you to rejoin…"

"Of course he wouldn't. Asking isn't his style. Forcing is more of his kind of area."

"But—"

"Rui, would you rather I be killed?" Wes raised his eyebrows, but he had spoken dryly.

"No, no," Rui said quickly, flushing slightly. "It's just that I have a hard time believing that someone like Gonzap wouldn't just kill you for revenge..."

"Like I said before. I was the best he had, and he wouldn't have forgotten that no matter what I did."

Rui bit her lip, still worried. Wes watched her expressionlessly, unreadable as ever.

Umbreon rubbed against Rui's legs reassuringly, looking up at her with his bright red eyes. Rui allowed herself a smile as she squatted down next to Umbreon, petting the Pokemon's silky fur.

"Your visits are too spread out, Wes," Rui said into the silence, looking back up at Wes from her position on the kitchen floor. "And most of the time, too short. But I'm glad you're back again."

"Me too."

* * *

I know, I know. Short, and probably a bit on the boring side. I'll make up for it, I promise.

Hint: Reviews are good. Real good. Heh.

Thanks guys.


	3. The Plot Thickens Considerably

Alright, I've updated. To make up for last time--no matter what you may think, I say it was too short--this one is a bit longer.

Disclaimer: Okay, okay. I think we're all at an agreement that I own nothing, right?

* * *

It didn't take long to figure out that the day would have been wasted if they had simply stayed at Rui's house. Wes showed no desire to disappear after an hour or so, like he had been known to do before, so Rui suggested that they take a walk through Phenac, and maybe even go to lunch.

"Why not, right? It's a nice day."

Wes shrugged and nodded, but the expression in his eyes looked pleased.

Delighted, Rui made a quick trip back to her room to grab some money, simply shoving the wad of bills into her pocket—purses, in her opinion, were easily forgotten and therefore useless—returning to the kitchen to find that Espeon and Umbreon had disappeared and Wes holding two Pokeballs.

Rui grinned. "Been awhile, huh?"

To her surprise, Wes gave one of his rare, tiny smiles. "Oh yes." Espeon and Umbreon rarely went into their Pokeballs, usually choosing to follow Wes cooperatively wherever he went.

Rui laughed. "It's good for them. Character building."

"Give me a break," Wes answered dryly, putting the two Pokeballs on his belt, though he sounded highly amused.

Rui led the way out of the house, Wes gliding along behind her calmly. It was a short walk from Rui's house in the suburbs to the city part of Phenac, where the shops, businesses, and restaurants were, and they made good time walking along the sidewalks and enjoying the hot weather.

"So where've you been staying again?" Rui asked as they walked slowly down the streets, mostly window-shopping and people-watching.

"Anywhere," was the quiet reply as Wes squeezed past a group of gossiping Trainers outside a Pokemon Grooming shop, in order to keep up with Rui. "Pyrite, mostly. It's easy to disappear in all the alleys. Sometimes the Under."

"The Under," Rui repeated doubtfully. She remembered the Under very well, and hadn't liked it at all. "You're careful, though, right?"

"Of course," Wes answered her patiently.

The two of them had reached the central part of the city, which served as a sort of park. There was a large fountain spewing water high up into the air, causing a slight spray to be flung in whichever direction there was a breeze. People milled about, some sitting on the benches, others simply hanging in groups, talking amiably.

"It's such a tourist place," Wes muttered to Rui as they passed a family dressed like they were ready for an expedition in the desert rather than walking around a city.

She nodded. "Tourism has gone way up ever since Cipher disappeared. I guess you wouldn't notice it as much in Pyrite or the Under."

"No," Wes said dryly, "You wouldn't." Pyrite and the Under, although significantly much better than they had been, were still hardly a tourist destination.

They were in front of the fountain now, looking down into the glittering water. Pennies littered the bottom of the fountain, little copper-colored specs against the blue tile.

"How're your grandparents?"

"Good," Rui replied, pleased that he'd asked, "And actually, I'm supposed to tell you hello for them. But they're good. They say they miss having me around their house, but they are glad I've got a place of my own."

"Good," Wes echoed in his quiet voice, giving a slight nod.

"Hi. Can you tell us where the Poke Center is?" a brown-haired girl asked them, approaching them suddenly. She had on a red-and-white tank top and skirt, her blue eyes looking at them curiously. "We're still trying to find our way around the city, and we're a little lost."

She motioned to the boy that was with her, and he gave them a sheepish grin. He had white hair that was held back with a sweat-band with a Pokeball symbol on it, and he was dressed in baggy shorts and a t-shirt.

Rui noticed that they both looked windswept, as if they had flown on a Pokemon for a long way.

"I'm not sure," Rui admitted politely. Having no Pokemon of her own, she really had no need of a Poke Center. She glanced at Wes. "Do you know?"

"Down that street," Wes answered, pointing to a street that branched off from the fountain area, "And take the first left. The Center's somewhere along there." At least he thought it was. He hadn't been to the Phenac Pokemon Center since the days Cipherhad beenaround.

"Thanks," the girl answered, looking relieved. "We just got here, and our Pokemon need a rest."

"Where are you from?" Rui asked curiously. For some reason, the boy looked familiar.

"We just flew in from Hoenn," the boy answered. "It's a long flight, and there was a storm on the way." He grinned. "But we made it."

"I'm May," the girl said warmly, "And this is Brenden."

"Oh," Rui said, suddenly remembering, "You're the Trainer that just recently beat the Elite Four over in Hoenn and became the new Champion. There was something on the news a few nights ago about that. Congratulations."

"Yeah, that's me," Brenden replied, looking sheepish again. "And thanks."

May rolled her eyes. "See? We even come here and you're famous."

"You just can't get over it because we used to be rivals," Brenden teased lightly.

May relented, and grinned. "Maybe." She sighed. "So what're your names?"

"I'm Rui, and he's Wes."

Brenden studied Wes. "Are you guys Trainers?"

"No," Rui admitted.

"Not really," Wes responded vaguely.

"Yes you are," Rui interjected exasperatedly, "You just don't really train anymore. But you are a Trainer, Wes."

Wes shrugged lazily. "Whatever."

Rui rolled her eyes.

May laughed. "I like her," she declared to Brenden. "Rui, I think you and I would get along real well."

"Oh brother."

"Why don't you come with us?" May asked. "Could you show us around the city?"

Rui looked over at Wes. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No," he answered truthfully. Espeon and Umbreon were great, but it was good to be in human company again, and listening to conversations.

"Great!" May exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Lunch on us," Brenden promised as he and Wes followed May and Rui down the street at a slightly slower pace. "So you have Pokemon?"

"Yes," Wes answered, keeping his eyes on May and Rui ahead of them. The two girls were deep in conversation already, stopping every now and then to point something out in the windows of the shops.

"Do you have a favorite type or something?" Brenden seemed genuinely interested. "Before we came here, someone told me that Orre Trainers specialize in Double battles."

"We really only use two-on-two here," Wes agreed as they took a left. Sure enough, the red roof of the Poke Center could be seen up ahead, while at the very end of the street Phenac's Colosseum rose up over the other buildings majestically. "I don't really have a favorite type."

"See, we mainly use Single battles in Hoenn," Brenden explained, "But sometimes Trainers battle Doubles. There is a Gym with two Leaders that Double battle, though. But other than that…" He shrugged, and then grinned. "I trust on my Swampert to pull me through."

Brenden continued to drill Wes with questions on Double battles and strategies all the way up until they reached the Center. Normally Wes didn't like to talk, especially to people who asked too many questions. But he found with Brenden, he didn't really care. It was no wonder, Wes decided, that this Trainer was the Hoenn Champion. He was just hooked on Pokemon.

Wes and Rui waited outside the Center as May and Brenden pushed their way inside; Rui since she didn't have any Pokemon and Wes because Espeon and Umbreon were fine. The Center was packed full of foreign Trainers most likely getting ready to try out a Colosseum challenge.

"It's not exactly what we originally planned," Rui admitted, "But why not, right? May's really nice. She likes to take part in all those Contests Hoenn has. It's pretty interesting to hear her talk about it…How was Brenden? I saw you two talking back there."

"He's fine," Wes answered smoothly, leaning against the building wall. "He wanted to know a lot about Double battles. They tend to do Single battles more in Hoenn, apparently."

"I'm sure you could give him loads of tips," Rui said with a smile. She paused, looking slightly worried again. "You really don't mind, do you?"

"No. Its fine," Wes answered honestly. "I don't care. And now you have a pen pal."

Rui laughed, her worried expression gone.

Wes watched the street, briefly yet carefully examining every face before his gaze flickered on. He seriously wouldn't put it past Gonzap to send Grunts into Phenac, looking for him. Since they were so close to the Colosseum, the streets were crowded with people, tourists and natives both. It wouldn't be too hard for a more experienced Grunt to blend in with the crowds.

May and Brenden rejoined them at that point, their Pokemon refreshed.

"What's that?" May asked, pointing down the street at the Colosseum.

Rui launched into an explanation, May and Seth listening with interest. As she was getting to the prizes for the winners, she trailed off, noticing Wes. His eyes were trained on something in the crowds, and his entire demeanor had tensed.

"Wes? What's wrong?"

Wes nodded wordlessly into the busy street. He _knew _the day had been going too well…

A cluster of shady-looking men had stopped at the street corner, sticking close together and having what looked like a heated muttered discussion. As Rui followed Wes's gaze, one of the men looked up from the group, looking straight at Wes.

"What's the matter?" May asked, sounding confused. "Who're those men?"

"We need to leave," Wes said flatly.

"Who are they?" Brenden asked, looking at the men thoughtfully. "They remind me almost of Team Aqua or Magma back in Hoenn…"

"Close enough," Wes responded, starting off. Rui, Brenden, and May hurried to catch up with him.

"They found you already?" Rui asked, back to being worried again, trotting in order to fall into step next to Wes.

"I told you they were getting warmer, Rui."

"What's going on?" demanded May.

"Those men back there were Team Snagem," Wes stopped and looked back at May and Brenden. "Like your Team Aqua or whatever. They happen to be…chasing…me at the moment. There's no time now to explain anything else. If you don't want to get caught up in this, I suggest you go your own way now."

"No way," Brenden said fiercely, looking determined. "We've dealt with criminal Teams before. We'll help."

May nodded firmly.

Wes jerked his shoulders in a shrug. "Suit yourself."

He slipped into the alley between the Poke Center and the buildings on the next street over. It was deserted; people tended to stick to the streets instead of the alleys, even while in Phenac. The noise of the street was dimmed as Wes led the way deeper into the alleyways.

"What are you planning on doing?" Brenden asked as they paused for a moment.

"Putting as much distance between them and me," Wes responded flatly.

"Why not battle them?" May suggested skeptically. "It seems to me like you're running away."

"With good reason," Rui murmured softly.

"There were too many people on the street. I don't need a scene," Wes answered, his voice still flat. "And I don't know how the Teams in Hoenn do business, but these guys don't fight fairly. Sometimes it doesn't matter what kind of Pokemon you have, or how strong they are."

Ignoring Brenden and May's looks of skeptical disbelief, Wes turned around to survey the two alleys in front of him, all the while listening intently for sounds of pursuit in the alley behind them.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, there was a shout, and the alley exploded. Wes lost all track of Rui, May, and Brenden as he was thrown through the air, landing with a loud crunch, smashed up against a wall.

Smoke was everywhere, and Wes's vision was hazy from pain. Dimly, he was aware of voices shouting somewhere in the smoke from the explosion, but then everything swirled, and then went dark.

* * *

Oh, it's a cliffhanger. Dun, dun, dun.

More soon. Even faster if you review...


	4. Miror B's Not So Grand Entrance

:dryly: I believe the correct term here would be "onward"...?

Insert any kind of disclaimer you so happen to desire here.

* * *

Everything was dark.

It took a moment for his vision to come into focus as he opened his eyes slowly, blinking. He couldn't help it; he let out a soft moan of pain as the world came sharply into focus. His arm was throbbing painfully—he must have landed on it funny—and the rest of his body felt as if he had been kicked several times over and dragged a long way.

Wes attempted to shift slightly, only to be prevented by the cords tied tightly around his legs and wrists. He was lying flat out on his back, and the only thing he could see was a dirty gray ceiling through the near darkness. There was a closed—and most likely locked—door off to his right, with a tiny bit of light coming in from beneath the cracks.

He could remember very sharply what had happened just moments before he had lost consciousness, and his thoughts immediately leapt to Rui. He glanced as far as he could to either side of him, but he appeared to be alone, wherever he was. Maybe she had gotten away, and was safe with Brenden and May.

As best as he could, Wes strained and reached down to where his belt would be, his fingers deftly searching for what he knew would not be there—the two Pokeballs containing Espeon and Umbreon, and his PDA. All three items were gone.

Gritting his teeth from the pain in his arm, Wes let his body go limp, simply staring up at the ceiling weakly. He wasn't sure where exactly he was, since the room, from what he could see of it, was bare. He couldn't really even be completely sure who his captors were, but he had a grim feeling that his guesses would be correct.

Suddenly there was a sharp pang from his arm, too strong for Wes's frail grip on consciousness. The world spun, and then faded away.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Rui opened her eyes slowly, trying to remember what had happened. May and Brenden, Poke Center, alley…and then an explosion…

She sat jolt upright, and nearly fell back down onto the pillows again when her head gave a nasty twinge. She could remember hitting her head on something, and then everything had gone dark…

"Rui?" asked an anxious voice behind her. "Are you alright?"

Rui looked around—it seemed like she was in a hotel room, on one of the beds—until her eyes landed on Brenden, sitting on the bed across from the one she was on. He peered back at her anxiously.

"Are you okay?" he repeated, looking worried. "Can you remember what—"

"Where's Wes?" Rui demanded before he could finish, already dreading the reply. "And May?"

Brenden looked uneasy. "I don't know. I remember the explosion, and then I blacked out. The next thing I know, I woke up. You and I were underneath a big piece of cardboard that must've been thrown on top of us from the explosion. I couldn't find Wes or May, so I just took you back to the hotel room…"

Rui's deep blue eyes widened. "Oh no…"

"Rui, could you please explain what's going on? Those men…the explosion…"

Rui fidgeted, but stayed put. She needed Seth's help, and to get it, she would have to be patient and explain. "Like Wes said, those men were from Team Snagem. And they are after him. You see, he used to be a member—"

"What?"

"Let me finish before you make any judgments," Rui overrode Brenden firmly. "Wes _used_ to be a member of Team Snagem. He was their top Snagger, in fact: someone who steals Pokemon right in front of their Trainers by using a machine that converts normal Pokeballs into Snag balls."

Brenden's mouth was open slightly as he stared at Rui, dumbstruck.

"But," Rui continued before he could say anything, "Wes is no longer a member of Team Snagem. He blew up half of the Team's Hideout, and then left the Team for good. He left, actually, just in time to arrive at Phenac and rescue me." Rui flushed slightly as she said this.

Brenden shut his mouth finally, swallowing. "So he's a good guy now, right?"

Rui nodded vigorously. "Yes."

"So…So that's why they're after him? Because he blew up their Hideout and ditched them?"

Rui nodded again. "Yes. But I'm not exactly sure what they want with him. He thinks that they want to either beat him up, or force him to rejoin the Team. Most likely both." Rui paled at her own words.

Brenden swallowed again. "Pleasant," he said weakly. "Wait. Force him to rejoin?"

"Yes. Wes was the best Snagger that Gonzap—the Boss—ever had. Wes thinks that Gonzap would want him back on the Team, even though he'd betrayed them once. That's why those men were after us. They're probably the ones that set the explosion, too."

"What about May?" Brenden asked, looking worried again.

"If you couldn't find her either, then they've probably taken her too," Rui responded sadly. "As a hostage. I'm really sorry, Brenden. But we did warn you…"

Brenden shook his head. "No reason to be sorry. You did warn us. It's not your fault." He grinned suddenly. "Time to play hero. We need to rescue our friends from this Snagem bunch."

"Thank you," Rui said happily, also silently relieved. Brenden was taking this even better than she could have hoped for.

"Hang on." Brenden held up a hand. He surveyed Rui, looking curious. "You said something about Wes rescuing you here in Phenac…?"

Rui flushed again, but smiled. "Well…it was a couple years ago, the same day Wes left Team Snagem. You see, there was this other group called Cipher…"

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

When Wes woke again, his arm was still throbbing agonizingly. It had to have been broken. The room was still dark, and he was still on his back. Due to pain, it was hard to think straight and everything seemed slightly fuzzy.

He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since he had last been awake, or how long he had been trapped in the room altogether. He didn't even know how long he lied there, unmoving and in pain, until finally the door opened and someone stepped inside.

The next thing Wes knew, he was being grabbed roughly by the front of his jacket and was thrust roughly against the wall into a sitting position, jarring his arm. Suddenly someone was squatting down in front of him.

For a moment, Wes and the Team Snagem Grunt glared at one another silently. Wes didn't recognize the man and didn't care to; he had never really been interested in the Grunts and their names, even back when he had been a fully fledged member of the Team.

Then the Grunt broke into a nasty grin. "We finally caught up with you, Wes. I know a few people who're going to be happy to see you."

Wes continued to glare at the man silently, his teeth gritted against the pain in his broken arm.

The Grunt rose to his feet. "Miror B., sir? He's awake!"

And then to Wes's horror, a tall, slender figure danced into the room, an overly-large afro bobbing animatedly on its head. Miror B. did a few intricate dance-steps, before striking a pose and freezing, looking down at Wes.

"Marvelous," he cried in his loud, whiney voice. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to wait too long for the little darling to wake up! I guess it's time to go, boys!"

Disgusted, Wes looked away as Miror B. dropped his pose and skipped out of the room, his afro nearly hitting the ceiling. Miror B. was part of Cipher. What was he doing ordering Snagem Grunts around? Wes had a feeling there was more than just revenge going on here, but wasn't quite sure what else to think.

Two more Grunts entered the room, and yanked Wes up. Wes remained limp, refusing to cooperate at all, forcing the Grunts to half-drag him, half-support him out of the room. As they left the small, bare room Wes glanced around quickly, trying to figure out where they were.

From the looks of it, it was just one of the old, empty buildings back in Pyrite. Insulation draped out of holes in the ceiling, and the painting on the walls was chipped and faded.

He didn't have much of an opportunity to see anything else. After a particularly painful shove from one of the Grunts, causing his arm to give an excruciating wrench, Wes lost consciousness once more.

* * *

Alright, people. Read and review, please...

You know you want to.


	5. Meet Shady

Many apologies for the slow update...

School. :weary sigh: It happens to the best of us.

Ah well. Onward, and no matter what you say, I own absolutely nothing.

* * *

May jolted awake, and for a moment, couldn't remember anything that had happened. Memory slowly trickled back to her as she studied her surroundings.

She was in what appeared to be a large van, all the way in the back. She was lying on her back, wrists and legs bound tightly with cords. The road the van was on couldn't have been paved too well, and every time it went over a bump, May winced.

Though she had just woken up, she felt exhausted. She could now remember meeting Rui and Wes, and then the explosion in the alley that had followed soon after. From what she could see, she was all alone; neither Brenden, Rui, nor Wes was in sight.

May couldn't have been all alone, however. Obviously someone had to be driving the van, though they were a terrible driver. Grimly, May realized that she must have been kidnapped while she had been unconscious by the men that had set off the explosion.

Whoever was in the van had been silent up until now. Suddenly conversation broke out, and May remained absolutely still, listening.

"We finally pulled it off," said a harsh, smug voice, the first to break the silence.

There was a jovial murmur of agreement—there was more than just a driver in the van.

"The Boss'll reward us good," said second, greedy voice, sounding nearly the same as the first. "We finally caught the little rat for him."

"He had better," grumbled another voice. "That damn kid wasn't easy to catch."

There was another mutter of fervent agreement.

May furrowed her brow, confused. Were they really talking about her? Or had they caught Brenden, Rui, or Wes, too?

"I'll make sure he does," the first voice reassured the other voices confidently. "Ever since the kid ran off, I've been the Boss's right-hand man."

"Or you like to think of yourself like that," muttered the third voice grumpily.

An argument broke out, and May stopped listening.

From the sound of things, someone else had been caught. Thinking back, May could remember Rui saying something about the men following them being after Wes. So Wes had to be somewhere around here. Maybe they—the voices obviously belonged to the Grunts of the Team, since they had mentioned a Boss—had Wes up in the front with them.

May hadn't liked the way they had been talking about him, though. They made it sound as if Wes had once been a part of their Team—whatever it was called—but that couldn't have been true, could it…?

Suddenly a man's face was looking down at her from the seat in front of her. His features were ugly and plain, and he was completely bald. May glared up at him.

Seeing May awake, he turned and called up to the front of the van, "Hey, the girlie's awake." May recognized his voice to be the second man who had spoken.

Soft chuckles answered him, and then the first voice responded, "Just leave her there. She can't do nothing."

The Grunt smirked down at her, and then withdrew his head, disappearing.

Furiously, May reached vainly for the Pokeballs she knew were at her belt, ready to release her Pokemon. To her dismay, all six were missing, as was her PokeNav. The Grunts must have stolen them while she had been unconscious.

She would have shouted at them, but she wanted their attention as less as possible. Shouting and threatening them would have gotten her nowhere, anyway; it was her against at least three Grunts, and they most likely had Pokemon while she didn't.

May was still frustrated, but there was nothing that she could do about it except lie in the back of the bouncing van, wondering where on earth they could be taking her.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"It's definitely broken. We'll have to make sure it's set, first, and then make a splint so it stays set until it heals. You say they used an explosion? You're lucky it's only a broken bone. He could have been killed."

The cold, crisp voice coming from overhead seemed vaguely familiar to Wes as he drifted back into consciousness.

"I didn't tell them to use an explosion," complained a whiney voice. Only Miror B. could have a voice that annoying. "I was just along as a supervisor. The one in charge."

"Therefore, everything would have been blamed on you if something had gone wrong," responded the cold voice pointedly.

Ein, Wes thought groggily. He was being examined by Ein.

Miror B. grumbled something inaudibly.

"Quiet," Ein snapped. "He's regaining consciousness."

Wes opened his eyes, blinking weakly. He was untied, but it wasn't like he was going anywhere anytime soon. The pain in his broken arm was almost unbearable, throbbing away nonstop. Ein and Miror B. were peering down at him, Ein expressionlessly and Miror B. looking greedy.

"So, Wes," Ein said coolly, seeing his eyes open, "We meet again."

"Yes, we meet again," Miror B. echoed, trying and failing spectacularly to sound as composed and ominous as Ein.

Ignoring them both, Wes sat up, and to his brief, mild surprise, they let him. He was on a lab table underneath a bright light, in a room that could be unmistakably recognized as one of the many lab rooms in Ein's laboratory located way out in desert.

"You won't be going anywhere," Ein said calmly, seeing Wes eyeing the room, "Your arm would considerably slow you down, and even _you_ cannot survive out in the desert, especially without your little Pokemon."

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere," Wes retorted, his eyes still traveling around the room, memorizing everything about it. "Yet."

Ein gave a cold smile at Wes's words. "You won't be going anywhere. At all."

"We'll see," Wes answered, trying to make the impression that he was calm, despite his inward feelings that were verging on panic.

"Yes, we shall," Ein replied smugly as the door to the room slid open.

Gonzap himself thumped in, his gaze zeroing in on Wes immediately. Wes could only sit where he was, frozen, as Gonzap lunged at him. Using two hands, Gonzap picked Wes up off his feet and smashed him against the wall, pinning him there helplessly, and his legs dangling beneath him limply.

"Wes, you little shit," Gonzap snarled, pressing Wes against the wall harder.

Wes didn't even attempt to struggle. Even if he had been with his full strength, there was no way he could have broken free from Gonzap's grip. His arm wrenched agonizingly, and he choked, in pain and unable to breathe.

"I can't wait till your arm is healed," Gonzap breathed, pressing even harder, "Because I'm going to break it again, and again, and again."

"It would be pointless," Ein spoke up icily, "If he were to suffocate, Gonzap."

With a low growl, Gonzap released his hold altogether, and Wes collapsed to the floor limply, gasping in pain and for breath. Gonzap took a few steps back, sizing Wes up, scowling murderously.

"Don't think we're finished yet," he hissed.

Wes looked back up at him feebly from his position on the floor, still panting.

"We'll have his arm set as soon as possible," Ein continued, sounding dry. "Break it again as many times as you'd like, but remember that he's going to need the use of it sooner or later."

Gonzap's only answer was to grunt, his eyes still on the unmoving Wes.

Miror B. was shifting on his feet to soundless music, looking apprehensive.

"SHADY!" roared Gonzap suddenly, making all three of them jump. "Get in here!"

Miror B. paled, and as the door slid open once more he pirouetted out of the room quickly, pushing past the person trying to enter the room.

Ein gave Wes a smug look.

Miror B.'s retreating afro disappeared, and Wes was staring at…himself.

A boy who looked exactly like Wes entered the room, looking annoyed. The only difference between him and Wes was that Wes's coat was dark blue, while his was a deep red color. He caught sight of Wes and stopped, staring back.

"And unfortunately for you, he's not some wacko dressed up like you," Ein commented into the silence, referring to the Cipher Peon from a couple years ago who had attempted to ruin Wes's good reputation. "He's real."

"Who the hell are you?" snapped the boy.

"This would be Wes," Gonzap answered, seemingly calm now, "I've already told you all about him."

The boy's eyes narrowed as he stared down at Wes haughtily.

"And Wes? Meet Shady."

Shady barked out a false laugh. "He doesn't look like he's in any condition to be meeting anyone."

Wes managed a glare, immediately feeling a strong loathing towards Shady.

Shady glared right back. "You don't look like you could accomplish much."

"Then I guess you can't, either," Wes managed to say, "Since you look exactly like me."

Ein laughed mirthlessly as Shady's glare deepened. "Looks are deceiving, I suppose…" he commented sardonically.

"Fix him up, Ein," Gonzap snapped, "You know where to put him. And then get back to your other duties."

"As you wish," Ein responded, coldly dry. "We'll need him unconscious."

Gonzap gave Wes a malicious grin. "That can be easily arranged."

He drew back his booted foot and kicked Wes with all his strength, making Wes give a small cry of pain. The world spun uncontrollably, and he could taste the bittersweet tang of blood in his mouth as he fell to one side, powerless to resist.

There was another sharp kick, and everything went dark once more.

* * *

So there you have it. I'll try to update faster and soon.

And you know you want to leave me a review.


	6. A Short Jail Break

Onward!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda yadda yadda; oh just read the stupid chapter.

* * *

"Do you have any idea of where they might have taken them?" 

Rui and Brenden stood outside the hotel, looking like any of the other tourists that had stopped for a break from all the walking and shopping. The streets of Phenac were crowded and bustling as ever. Apparently the explosion hadn't alarmed anyone, or if it had, it was long since over and past.

Rui considered Brenden thoughtfully. "I know of three places…"

"Tell me."

"One is the Realgam Tower," Rui explained, "It used to be Cipher's main headquarters, but it's been made into a Colosseum, so I doubt they would have taken Wes and May there."

Brenden nodded. "If it's a Colosseum, it'll be chock full of tough Trainers. What about the other two?"

"The second place," Rui continued, "They could have gone would be Team Snagem's old Hideout. But like I said before, Wes blew that up ages ago, so I don't think they would've gone there, either."

"Which leaves…?"

"The old Shadow Pokemon Lab."

"That doesn't sound too friendly," Brenden commented. "So where's it at?"

"Way out in the middle of nowhere…"

"But you know where it is?"

Rui paused. "Um…"

"Haven't you been there before, though?"

"I wasn't the one driving," Rui admitted, feeling as though she were letting both herself and Brenden down by not knowing. "Um…"

"What if we flew out over the desert on Pokemon?" suggested Brenden, "Would we be able to spot it from way up high?"

Rui nodded, relieved. "Definitely. I do remember it's somewhere between here and Mt. Battle. Only one problem…"

"What?"

"I don't have any Pokemon, let alone a flying one."

Brenden grinned. "That's where I come in. You can borrow one from me—I've got loads since me and May were working on our Pokedexes—and ride it yourself, or you could Fly with me."

"Thanks," Rui answered sincerely. "I don't know what I'd do without your help…"

Brenden shrugged nonchalantly. "Me neither, to tell you the truth."

"I guess you're right," Rui agreed.

"Come on. Most of my Pokemon are in my Boxes in the PC at the Pokemon Center." Brenden hesitated. "Now…Which way was the Center again?"

Despite the situation, Rui managed a small laugh. "This way, Brenden."

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Wes woke to a feeling of nothing. The pain in his arm was gone, and the rest of his body felt like it had been numbed, giving him the sensation that his sense of touch was completely gone.

In one fluid motion, he rolled to his feet, pushing himself up off the ground. His arm that had been broken—the arm his Snag machine had once resided on—was in a simple cloth sling, wrapped tightly.

On further examination of his surroundings, Wes summarized that he was being held in one of the thick-glassed cells that had once held Shadow Pokemon. He was not alone—one of the three other cells held someone else. May. But she was either asleep or unconscious, so Wes let her be.

Wes had no intention of staying put. It was becoming tiring to be drifting in and out of consciousness, and he was trapped in a building with all the people he had once hoped to never lay eyes on again.

But he sorely needed Espeon and Umbreon back. They were his best friends, apart from Rui and he supposed May and Brenden now as well, and they could offer him some protection. Especially from Gonzap's bloodthirstiness.

Wes shuddered. Gonzap had been bad enough when Ein and Miror B. had been witnesses. If Gonzap caught him alone, he was finished.

Momentarily defeated, Wes leaned against the back wall of the cell, going over every option that he could possibly have. There weren't a lot, and all of them rested on the fact that he had Espeon and Umbreon with him. Like Gonzap would ever allow that…

The door to the room of cells slid open, and Wes tensed. Venus flowed into the room, wearing, of course, one of her flamboyant pink gowns. Accompanying her were two female Cipher Peons, standing on either side of her at attention.

Seeing Wes watching her warily from the back of his cell, Venus let out one of her high-pitched, girly giggles. She waltzed up to the thick glass, peering in at him as if he were a Pokemon in a zoo.

"Hello, Wes," she said coyly, batting her eyelashes at him with another giggle. "I see you haven't changed. Handsome as ever…"

Wes refused to answer, flatly staring back at her. He didn't know which Cipher Admin revolted him more; especially between Miror B. and Venus.

Venus pouted. "You're no fun. Maybe if you'd be a little more charming, I'd let you out…" She batted her eyelashes again.

Wes made no reply, still revolted and refusing to cooperate. There was no way she would let him out anyway. She was just trying to get something out of him, and he stopped his thoughts about it then, not really wanting think about _that_ anymore.

Sickened, he gave a tiny shudder.

"Milady Venus," interrupted one of the female Peons stiffly, as if trying politely to remind Venus of something seemingly important.

"Oh yes," Venus waved a hand vaguely, "They'll have finished by now, won't they? I suppose I'll have to join them." Her gaze returned to Wes. "I'll return to see you again soon, sweetie."

With one last high-pitched giggle, Venus and her two Peons swept from the room, the door sliding shut behind them.

Wes let himself relax slightly once Venus was gone. She was one scary individual. Wes shook his head. If Rui had been here, she would've tried to kill Venus for that last comment.

And he most likely would have watched with amusement.

Wes crept over to the door of the cell, running his hand briefly over the backside of the lock that was on his side of the door. He could see the lock itself through the thick glass, but he had no way of reaching it.

Feeling slightly depressed, Wes returned to the back of the cell. This already downhill situation was steadily growing worse. Gonzap was murderously intent on some painful revenge, but Ein's last comment made him feel like he was needed for something.

Wes glanced at his broken arm—the arm that had once donned the Snag machine. They would interrogate him for what he had done with it. If it came to that, hopefully he would figure out why they needed the machine first.

And then there was the matter of Shady. Wes had no idea who he was or where he had come from. It wasn't possible for him to have a brother—especially a twin—yet there he was, exactly identical.

With a nasty attitude to boot.

As Wes was mulling over everything, the door to the cell room slid open once more. This time Dakim lumbered in, blinking, his volcano of red hair brushing the ceiling. His eyes fell onto Wes, and he broke out into a wicked grin.

Wes couldn't help himself; he shrank back against the wall, pressing his back against it. When it came to Pokemon battles Wes could top Dakim easily, but now Wes was completely without Pokemon and was about one-sixteenth the size of Dakim.

"_You_," Dakim growled, lumbering up to the glass, looking down at Wes, his grin still plastered on his face. He did something to the lock of the cell door and then ripped the door open, ducking inside.

Wes, who, despite his instincts telling him to panic and run, remained rooted to the spot. He did not want to give Dakim the satisfaction of a chase. He looked up at Dakim, and for a moment, he and Dakim stared at one another motionlessly.

And then suddenly, without any warning at all, Dakim moved. His agility was much faster than one would expect coming from a man so large, but then again it was obvious he had been trained in the martial arts or something similar.

Dakim's arm flashed, and suddenly Wes was once again pinned up against the wall brutally, his legs dangling uselessly beneath him. He gave a sharp gasp of pain—the blissful numb feeling leaving him abruptly—as Dakim's fingers crushed his broken arm to his side.

"I'm gonna make sure you pay for everything you've done," Dakim growled, tightening his grip on Wes. "You little shit. It's about time we finally caught up with you."

Desperately, Wes finally gave in to his instincts, mostly because the acute pain in his arm was about to drive him into oblivion. He kicked wildly, and by sheer luck, one of his blows somehow managed to land on Dakim squarely between the legs.

Dakim gave a roar of pain, throwing Wes away like a piece of trash blindly. Wes hit the glass wall hard, and landed even harder. Ignoring the hurt, Wes scrambled to his feet—here was his opportunity.

Dashing past Dakim, Wes slipped out of the cell, and for good measure he shut and relocked the door. Dakim was doubled over in pain, still howling, and didn't even notice.

Frantically, Wes darted out into the hall, running as fast as he could. Dakim's howls of pain were far from quiet, and people would be running to investigate. Panting, Wes threw himself into an elevator just as footsteps reached his ears, and the door slid shut.

Wes sagged against the wall as the elevator descended downward, farther beneath the surface of the desert. He didn't really care where it was taking him at the moment, though.

He wasn't sure why exactly he had done what he had just done. Obviously he had wanted to escape, but he had just acted like a wild Pokemon that was desperate to burst out of a Pokeball. Senseless and terrified. Not a way Wes was used to acting.

He supposed it could be that all the faces he had never hoped to see ever again were resurfacing from the past, haunting him. Gonzap, Miror B., Ein, Venus, and Dakim. He wouldn't be surprised now if even Nascour or Evice showed up. And they were all bent on brutal revenge.

And something else. Wes _still _couldn't shake the feeling that they had also captured him for more reasons that just revenge…

The elevator door opened with a soft ding, and Wes cautiously crept out, glancing either way warily before finally stepping out. He was in the lower parts of the lab, where Ein did his shadowy work.

Wes was calmer now, and he could feel his sheer panic wearing off. Still cautious, he proceeded forward, tensed and ready to run again at the slightest noise. His thoughts, which had been jumbled, where slowly straightening out, and already he was forming the loose outline of a course of action.

Back in business.

He was very much aware of the fact that he had to somehow return for May. He barely knew the Hoenn girl, but Rui had liked her, and he couldn't leave her to be tormented by Gonzap and the Cipher Admins.

But first and foremost, he needed Espeon and Umbreon.

Clutching at his arm, Wes ducked around a corner. At the end of the short stretch of hallway that now lay before him was an unguarded doorway. Since it was basically his only option, Wes crossed the hall and slipped through the doorway.

He went down a flight of stairs, and emerged into a very familiar room. It was the room where, a couple years ago, he had battled Ein in a Pokemon match and Snagged his Shadow Raikou. This was the room where Ein completed the Shadow Pokemon process, and kept all his data stored. The lights were dim, but the room seemed empty.

Espeon and Umbreon sat subdued in separate cages on top of one of the desks, their ears drooped. At the sight of Wes, they both leapt up, pressing themselves against the bars, their tails wagging delightedly.

Wes hurried over to them, sticking his fingers in each of the cages. Espeon rubbed against him, relieved, and Umbreon even gave him a tiny lick.

"It's alright, guys," Wes said quietly, spying their Pokeballs lying not far away. "I'm not going to let them turn you Shadow." He snatched the two Pokeballs with his good hand and arm. "You're just going to have to go back in here again for the time being."

"_Espi_," Espeon answered, while Umbreon just looked at him with his big eyes.

Wes gave them both a gentle pat through the bars, before he recalled them back into their Pokeballs. He then pushed both Pokeballs deep into one of the hidden, inner pockets of his coat. Now they were completely concealed, and safe.

For good measure, he took out two of his un-used Pokeballs—two of the few Pokeballs left over from his Shadow Pokemon Snagging days—and put them in the same spot Espeon and Umbreon's Pokeballs had once been.

That should confuse them.

Satisfied, Wes turned away from the desk. Now he only had to figure out how to get himself and May out and away from the lab in once piece.

Difficult, but it could be managed.

As Wes was crossing the room to the elevator he knew was hidden in the very back, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Going somewhere?"

* * *

So it's another cliff-hanger. Shoot me already, then. The truth is I didn't want the chapter to get too lengthy. Just not really my style at the moment. Heh. 

:shifty eyes: You know, reviews are very good for a certain someone's confidence...

...Namely mine...


	7. Set Up

No one really readswhat authors typehere, do they? They all just go straight for the story. Heh. Can't blame them in the least.

Onward.

* * *

Wes whirled around to face none other than Shady, who was standing in the middle of the room, smirking, his arms folded.

"I had a feeling you'd be down here," Shady drawled, eyeing Wes lazily. "I guess I was right."

"Must be a first time for you, huh?" Wes shot back, desperate to buy some time. How long had Shady been in the room? If he had seen Wes find Espeon and Umbreon, Wes was finished.

Shady scowled.

"So how come we're the same?" Wes asked bluntly, all the while listening intently for sound of more people coming down the stairs.

Shady jerked his shoulders in a shrug, still glaring. "I don't know," he spat scornfully, "And I really don't care."

Loud, angry voices could be heard overhead, and footsteps were echoing down the stairwell. It was time to leave, and quickly.

"Just wondering." Wes took a casual step back, looking as if he were just shifting his weight. He could still make a break for the elevator in the back. If he was even luckier, Shady wouldn't even know about the elevator and suspect nothing.

"I wouldn't try that," Shady warned, slightly smug. "I know there's an elevator back there. You don't have a chance."

Damn.

"No chance? How so?"

Shady smirked. "One, there's a whole bunch of Grunts and Peons guarding the front door of the lab, in case you were to make it that far. Two, I'd just do this."

In a blink, Shady had drawn a Pokeball and had released the Pokemon inside. A large Venusaur crowded the room; making Shady and Wes each take a few steps back.

"I don't see how a Venusaur could—"

"Use your vines!" snapped Shady.

Two long, thin vines shot forward from somewhere around the Pokemon's shoulders. They each wrapped tightly around Wes's middle, and then lifted him off the floor, so he was once again dangling uselessly.

"Ah," Wes said, slightly feeble. He could have called out Espeon and Umbreon, but he didn't want to give away the fact that he had them yet, so he was forced to just stay put. "I see."

Shady just threw him a dirty look, before leaning against the wall, arms folded again, with a bored expression.

Gonzap, Ein, and Miror B. suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs; or rather Gonzap and Ein did while Miror B. did a graceful leap into the room, standing high up on his toes like some sort of freakish ballerina. Gonzap looked livid, and Ein looked annoyed at the entire situation.

Gonzap's eyes fell onto Wes, helpless in the Venusaur's grasp.

"Well done, Shady," he snapped gruffly, his eyes still on Wes.

Wes tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. This was going to hurt.

"Oh thank goodness he didn't escape!" Miror B. cried, doing a small jig in celebration. "Everything would have been most ruined!"

"I suggest you get it out of your system now, Gonzap," Ein stated coldly, going over to his desk and beginning to shuffle through some papers. "So then we could move on. To slightly more _important_ things."

"Oh, I'll get it out of my system alright," Gonzap snarled, his eyes glittering as he advanced towards Wes. He seemingly chose to ignore Ein's last dry comment. "And Shady, you tell that Venusaur to hold him still until I'm done with him."

Shady smirked from his position leaned against the wall. "He won't move an inch."

Gonzap stopped inches away from Wes, nearly eye-level with him. "This is for what you did to the Hideout, and Team Snagem."

And then, there was an explosion of pain.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

May gave a soft groan, opening her eyes blearily. She was aware of harsh voices, and someone being thrown forcefully to the ground nearby, and then a loud slam, before everything was quiet. As her awareness fully returned, she realized it was Wes lying in a heap nearby, panting harshly.

With a soft gasp, May pushed herself up so that she was in a crouched position next to him. Wes was covered in all sorts of bruises, most of them bloody. One arm was in a make-shift sort of cloth sling, but there was something wrong with his breathing; uneven and short as it was. Tentatively, May reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

Wes flinched away from her touch, and with effort rolled himself over so that he was out of her reach and could see her. When he saw that it was only her, he relaxed slightly.

"What happened to you?" May breathed, concerned and afraid.

Wes pulled himself up into a sitting position, resting his back weakly against the wall. "My old boss and I had a run in," he answered weakly. He coughed, and then wiped his mouth with a gloved hand.

"Your old boss?" May wondered, for the first time looking around. They seemed to be in a cell of sorts, but, for the exception of the back wall, the walls were made of a thick-looking glass. There were other cells in the room, but they were empty. "Where are we?"

Wes gave another shuddering cough, his hands clutching weakly at where his ribs were located. He spat, and May glimpsed a tiny flash of red. "An old lab," he gasped out, "Out in the middle of the desert."

May was silent, thinking. The only sounds in the room came from Wes—his harsh, uneven breathing and his occasional feeble cough.

"So…this is where those men from the alley hide out?" May asked.

Wes just nodded, his eyes dull with pain.

"I woke up when they were taking us here," May admitted, giving Wes a suspicious look, "And I overheard some…interesting…things. About you."

Wes gave another painful-sounding cough, and this time May noticed a trickle of blood going down his chin. He wiped his mouth, seeing her stare, and then met her gaze. "It probably wasn't quite exactly accurate."

May folded her arms, sinking back into a sitting position.

"Alright," Wes rasped weakly, seeing the stubbornness in her eyes that was not unlike Rui's mulishness. "I'll explain, but just _listen_. Then decide on whether or not you want to trust me."

"Rui does," May replied slowly, slightly surprised on how well Wes had just read her silent suspicions, "Rui trusts you. Right?"

Wes nodded, but then winced. "Rui does."

"All right," May relented, "Please just explain what this is all about."

Wes drew in a rattling breath, gritting his teeth—his ribs were killing him—before releasing it in a rush. His breathing was slowly leveling out and becoming easier, so that was an improvement.

In a steady, even voice, Wes began.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"How long do you think this'll take?" Brenden asked Rui as they stepped out of the cool air conditioning of the Poke Center and into the heat of Orre.

Rui shrugged. She still clutched the Pokeball Brenden had just given her, looking down at it in reverence. It contained a Flying Pokemon—an Altaria, according to Brenden—and she would be using it to Fly high above Orre's desert. After much thought, she had decided to Fly on a Pokemon by herself, rather than on one with Brenden.

"I'm not sure," she admitted as they started slowly for the edge of town. She was beginning to feel slightly nervous about this Flying business. "We know what general direction the lab's in, but as for its exact location…"

"We'll just have to get lucky," Brenden finished confidently. "We'll spread out a bit too, so we can cover more distance."

Rui nodded. She hoped fervently that she would not suddenly develop a fear of great heights. She had been okay, she guessed, back when she and Wes had battled Dakim on the hovering platforms high up on the side of Mt. Battle. But then again, she remembered feeling very dizzy and nervous as they had crossed each of the narrow bridges leading to the next platform…

"And if one of us sees something, or if there's trouble, we'll signal," Brenden continued, unaware of Rui's doubts and worries. "Or wave or something. We'll figure it out."

Rui smiled despite herself. "I'm glad one of us is optimistic."

Brenden looked over at her and gave her a warm grin. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find Wes for ya. I'm really worried for him, too, and especially May. You and him are best friends, and so are May and I. We're all in this together."

"And now all four of us are best friends," Rui said, brightening slightly. She couldn't help it; that was her personality. Wes would always look at her and remark darkly about how sunny she was, but then give her one of his rare grins. Yes, she would just hang on to her hope. Just for him.

Brenden grinned again. "Right."

They were walking out of the gates of Phenac now, and the vast desert of Orre lay out before them. Heat rose up in shimmering waves, and far-off mirages of pools of water glistened invitingly; though their promises were empty.

"Thirsty?" Rui asked wryly, watching Brenden gaze out across the massive desert with a mixed expression.

"That's not funny," he replied, shaking his head, but he gave her a reassuring grin. "Let's go. Swellow, I choose you!" He tossed out a Pokeball.

"Altaria!" Rui tossed the Pokeball she had been holding, following suit.

Two bird Pokemon appeared before them, looking up at them calmly and questioning. Rui immediately liked the Altaria Brenden had loaned her. It was a pretty blue color, with a wispy cloud around its body, and two long, flowing feathers coming out of the top of its head. It reminded her of the tiny Swablu Wes had Snagged, so long ago…

"Ready, Rui?" Brenden asked. "Altaria, you're to obey my friend Rui for now, okay? Do as she says and show her your good manners."

The Altaria cooed softly, blinking up at Rui serenely.

"Just give the command when you're ready," Brenden said, and he put a hand on Rui's shoulder. "Don't be afraid. Altaria won't let you fall."

Rui nodded, steeling herself. Heights should be the least of her worries right now. She needed to concentrate on rescuing May, and of course Wes, her gallant prince…He needed her, and she wasn't about to chicken out. She would be brave. Just for him.

"Altaria! Fly!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So basically, you used to be a member of this Team Snagem bunch—their top Snagger—but then you blew up their Hideout and made off with the portable Snag Machine—which helps you Snag Pokemon from their Trainers and which was key in how you and Rui saved and Purified all those Shadow Pokemon—and then rescued Rui from a couple thugs—that's how you two met—and then saved Orre from a terrible Shadow Pokemon plot—which were created in this lab place by Cipher—and now Team Snagem and your old Boss Gonzap—the guy who just beat you up—are after you for revenge and other such things, which is why those men in the alley—Grunts from Team Snagem—attacked us, and brought us to this lab out in the middle of the desert. Right?"

Wes blinked, running over in his head what May had just said. "All of what I just explained to you put into one way-to-long sentence," he muttered wryly. "Yes. That about sums it up. Basically."

May nodded, satisfied. "Okay. I get it."

"Oh good," Wes muttered beneath his breath dryly. It still hurt to breathe, but it was better than what it had been.

"How are you feeling?" May asked, growing concerned again and ignoring his mutterings under his breath. It seemed as if her mind had been made up, and now she trusted him again. "Gonzap beat you pretty bad, didn't he…?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Wes muttered, slightly bitter.

"But you weren't in here when they did it, weren't you? I woke up, and they had just thrown you in…"

"I had been trying to escape," Wes explained as patiently as he could manage, "But they caught me. Luckily I found my Pokemon and stole them back before they did." He dug into the inside pocket of his coat and flashed two Pokeballs before pushing them back down into the pocket once more.

"Did you find mine?" May asked hopefully, her eyes wide. "Because they took mine, too…"

"Oh," Wes answered, feeling slightly guilty. Which surprised him, because usually only Rui could manage to make him feel any sort of guilt. Was he growing too soft? "I didn't know they had taken yours. Sorry, I didn't see any other Pokemon where I was…"

"Oh." May slumped slightly, looking put out. "It's okay…"

"We'll find them," Wes assured her, with another small cough. Silently, though, he was wondering if they had already turned May's Pokemon Shadow.

May brightened considerably. "Okay."

"They don't even know I have my Pokemon back yet," Wes responded, "And hopefully they won't notice for awhile, but I have a feeling they might notice soon. In the meantime, just don't say anything about me having anything."

May nodded seriously. "Right."

Wes put his head back against the concrete behind him, the feeling of deep exhaustion returning. The beat-up session, while familiar enough, hadn't helped. And now he was stuck with getting both himself and May out of the lab alive and in once piece, something that was much easier said than done.

He hoped fervently that Brenden and Rui were okay. Especially Rui. That explosion had been nasty, and he hoped that Rui wasn't hurt. He would _kill_ Miror B. if Rui had been harmed…

"Wes?"

At the tentative question, Wes opened his eyes with a small start. He hadn't even realized that he had shut them. He shifted slightly, holding back a small moan of pain.

"Yeah?"

May looked embarrassed that she'd disturbed him. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

The door to the cell room slid open, and Dakim lumbered in. His eyes immediately locked onto Wes, and his face contorted into a murderous scowl. He was accompanied by Venus, who had to trot to keep up with his wide strides.

"No," Wes muttered to May flatly.

May was too busy staring at Dakim, her mouth open, to answer.

Just as before, Dakim approached the door to the cell and wrenched it open, ducking inside. Venus followed him, twittering away.

"Oh, look! The little girl is awake! Do you think I could have her as a Peon if she were to join us and our noble devise? Hello little girl, I'm Lady Venus! Yes, Lady Venus: that's me!"

"Get back," hissed Wes quietly to May as Dakim approached.

May scooted back quickly into the far corner, still staring at Dakim with an expression that was half-horrified, and half-terrified.

Dakim stopped when he was standing over Wes, right in front of him. Wes was forced to look up at him from his spot on the ground, wondering whether or not he was about to be brutally kicked.

"You're to come with us," Dakim grunted finally, reaching down with one meaty hand to pull Wes to his feet roughly. He then put both his hands on Wes's shoulders, and nearly marched Wes out of the cell.

Venus followed a little more slowly. "Bye-bye, little girl! I hope we'll be able to talk again real soon!" She shut and relocked the door of the cell and then hurried to catch up with Wes and Dakim, who were already halfway out the door of the cell room.

Even Venus was silent as they traveled through the lab; the only sound she made was the clicking of her heels on the shiny hard floors. Wes kept his back straight and stiff, though it cost him some effort—he was still in pain from Gonzap's beating, and with every step he took, Dakim's grip on his shoulders became tighter and tighter.

At this rate, he would have a broken collar bone to add to his collection of injuries by the time they reached their destination.

Suddenly Dakim yanked him to a stop, and thrust open the door they had stopped next to, before shoving Wes inside. Briefly, Wes could make out the lab room he had first woken up in, along with Shady, Gonzap, Miror B., and Ein, before he was knocked to the ground.

He landed hard on his stomach with a groan—he had landed on his bad arm, too, and all his other injuries that were now too numerous to list. As the world swirled, he was dimly aware of Dakim and Venus entering the room behind him and shutting the door.

"Just get it over with," snapped Shady tersely.

Suddenly Wes was picked up by the back of his jacket and shaken mercilessly. Doing the only thing that seemed sensible at the moment, Wes frantically shrugged out of his jacket, dropping to the floor for a second time.

"Here," Dakim grunted, and tossed the jacket to Shady, as Wes weakly picked himself up to his knees, left only in his sleeveless, Shuckle-neck-like shirt as a top garment.

To Wes's confusion, Shady shrugged off his own red jacket and donned Wes's blue one. He dropped the red one in front of Wes carelessly, brushing off the blue one he now wore, looking disdainful.

"Don't worry about the blood, you'll be bloody two once we're satisfied," Gonzap said, looking slightly eager.

Shady glared at him. "I know."

Suddenly realization donned in Wes, and it took both Dakim and Ein to pick him up and drag him to the lab table, wrestling him down into place.

Miror B. did a little twirl. "Oh, how I wish there was music! The thrill of it all!"

Venus gave a high-pitched giggle, quickly covering her mouth with a hand.

"What are you doing?" Wes cried, struggling wildly as Ein began to clamp Wes down to the table, so that he was lying helplessly on his back.

"It's obvious that you've already figured it out," Gonzap retorted dryly, though his eyes sparkled darkly with pleasure.

"But why! You've already beat the hell out of me, why not go for m—"

"Because as much as it pains us to say so," Ein interrupted coldly, calmly finishing installing the last restraint on Wes, "We need your skills."

"For what?" snapped Wes angrily, still trying vainly to break free, despite the panging from his injuries.

Dakim, seeing that Wes was now held down by the clamps, released his grip on the boy and stepped back, looking smug. He had managed to raise another bruise on Wes's cheek when wrestling the boy down onto the table.

"We can't tell you that now," Ein answered loftily. "Gonzap, get on with it."

"Alright," snarled Gonzap, coming to stand menacingly over Wes. "You can either have this done the easy way, or the hard way. You can either dump that stupid red-head and your other little pathetic _friends_—" He said the word as if it were a curse nastier than any of the other numerous curses he was known to spit out, "—and rejoin us willingly by yourself. Or we'll send Shady in, posing as you, to dump them for you."

"Never," hissed Wes, glaring up at Gonzap with all the defiance he possessed. "I'd never rejoin _you_, you low-life scum of the—"

Gonzap smirked. "I was hoping you'd choose the hard way. Shady, you're going in."

Shady just glared at them all, still wearing Wes's blue jacket.

"He knows you, Wes. He knows how you act, what you know, and even what Pokemon you use," Ein said, soundly smugly pleased, "We've been carefully training him in that area. So don't go thinking he won't be able to pull it off."

Wes glared, still trying to break loose from his captive state.

"We'll be dumping you back in the cell with the brown-haired girl, once we make you look a little more beat-up. Wes stole back his Pokemon already, correct? Take these—the Grunts got them off the girl. They're her Pokemon." Ein dumped Pokeballs into Shady's hands.

Shady shoved them into the same pocket Espeon and Umbreon's Pokeballs were in, silently handing their Pokeballs to Gonzap, who smirked at Wes as he took them.

Wes watched, shocked into silence. So they _had_ known that he had stolen back his Espeon and Umbreon. In fact, they had wanted him to. He had been set-up…

"Say you managed to steal them when we weren't looking just now," Ein continued. "Break out, and make a run to the entrance—the Peons already to know only pretend to try to go after you. And you know what to do from there."

Shady nodded, and gave Wes a sly look.

"Take a week to get it done," Gonzap ordered gruffly.

"It would be odd for you to take off right away," Ein explained, folding his arms and leaning calmly against the desk near the table Wes was on. "Dakim. Knock Shady around a bit, so it doesn't look like we've completely healed him."

Dakim acknowledged the orders with a grunt.

"And Shady," Gonzap called as Dakim prepared to 'lead' Shady back to the cell room with Venus. "Make sure you dump that red-head in the _meanest_ way possible," he ordered, his eyes glued to Wes's. "We wouldn't want her snooping around looking for you if you didn't make it seem like she was no longer…wanted."

Shady nodded, gave Wes one last triumphant smirk, and then he, Dakim, and Venus disappeared out the door.

Before Wes could shriek a string of curses at Gonzap, Miror B. was suddenly taping his mouth shut, despite Wes's furious struggles and now muffled howls.

"We don't want the girl to become suspicious if she hears your insolent shouting," he explained to Wes cheerfully, smoothing the tape down tightly.

"Don't worry, Wes," Gonzap said, mockingly soothing as he smirked widely, "We're moving on to bigger and better things. It's for your own good. And if you're especially good, we'll even let you watch Shady dump your girlfriend."

Throwing back his head to laugh raucously, Gonzap left the room, swinging his broad arms heartily as he walked.

Miror B. did another of his little twirls, striking another horrifying pose. "You won't be pinned down long," he promised in a sing-song voice, "This is only to keep you out of the way so that Shady can 'escape'—" Here he gave an annoying bark of laughter, "—without you interfering and messing things up. _Let the music play on_!" He moon-walked out of the room, waving his arms outrageously.

The door slid shut with an ominous click.

Which left Wes still secured tightly to the stainless steel lab table, with only Ein, tapping away at a keyboard in front of a computer, for company. Wes's struggles were noticeably weaker now; his exhaustion was taking its toll.

He felt torn in all directions as he lay there, gazing up at the ceiling with dull eyes. A part of him was still fuming with intense anger and deep hatred towards Gonzap, while another part of him was under an anxiety attack for Rui's safety. Poor grammar as it was, he hadn't liked Gonzap's request for the 'meanest' method of getting rid of Rui.

And yet another part of him was fearful for himself. What did Gonzap and the other Admins want from him, to go to such great lengths? Whatever it was, it couldn't be too pleasant…

Wes finally let his muscles slacken limply in defeat, slumping in his restraints. Everything was messed up, and it was all wrong...

* * *

So. One of Shady's purposes has finally been revealed--As if you all couldn't figure that out by yourselves anyway. What kind of havoc will he wreak with poor little Rui, May and Brenden?

Well I'm not quite sure either.

Just kidding; I do have an idea but that'll just have to wait for the next chapter.

R&R


	8. Enter Nascour

And the show shall go on.

* * *

May was still huddled in the corner of the glass cell when the impossibly enormous, red-haired man returned, dragging Wes along in his wake. The strange woman in a pink gown pranced after them, but this time she remained silent as the man thrust Wes back into the cell and stomped out again, but not before relocking the cell door. 

Wes fell hard on his stomach after being pushed into the cell, and with obvious effort he rolled over onto his back. His golden eyes looked a little dazed, and he had fresh bruises and scraps on his face.

May didn't move until the colossal man and pink woman were gone; the door to the cell room safely shut. Then she went to crouch beside Wes as he hauled himself into a sitting position, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Are you okay?" May asked, worried as she looked over his new collection of wounds. "What did they do to you? Hey, they fixed your arm!"

"I'm fine," Wes answered shortly, but he glanced down at his once-broken arm. "Yeah, they fixed it. One of them had a Blissey."

"Why, though?"

Wes jerked his shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know. And I don't care. I'm just glad to be away from them again."

May nodded. "Right."

"Here." Wes reached into an inner pocket of his coat and produced a fistful of Pokeballs, handing them to a stunned May. "I stole them when they weren't looking. Are they yours?"

"Yes," breathed May, recognizing them right away. Any Trainer knows their own Pokeballs when they see them. "Now we can get out of here!"

Wes nodded. "If you have a Pokemon that can get us out of this cell, then I can lead us out of the lab."

May looked determined. "With one good Blaze Kick, my Blaziken can get us out of here!" She stowed her all of her Pokeballs except for one safely onto her belt. "Go, Blaziken!"

An extremely tall bird-like Pokemon emerged into the cell along with them, looking down its beak at May and Wes. May climbed to her feet and gave the Pokemon a quick hug.

"It's good to have you back!" She said, while the Pokemon just stood still, waiting patiently for its master to let go of it with a politely confused expression on its face, unaware that it had even been stolen in the first place.

Wes pushed himself to his feet. He was still a little wobbly, but May could tell he was slowly getting his bearings back.

"All right, Blaziken," May said as she stepped back from the fire-type, "We need you to shatter that glass, but don't hurt yourself. Blaze Kick!"

Obediently, the Blaziken turned around to study the glass. A split second later, its right talon-like-foot burst into flame. Undaunted by its flaming foot, the Pokemon swung its leg around expertly, and with one well-aimed smack, hit the glass full on.

There was an ear-splitting shatter, and the glass crumpled, splitting into thousands of pieces that sprayed all over the floor. May and Wes shielded their faces as some of the pieces flew near them.

"All right, Blaziken! Good work!" May recalled the fire-type back into its Pokeball, storing it on her belt along with her other ones.

"Let's go," Wes said, ducking through the remains of the glass wall, "They'll have heard that."

May followed him, stepping carefully over the jagged shards of glass, grateful for the fact that she was in her running shoes and Wes was in boots. The door to the room itself wasn't locked, and they stepped out into the still-empty hallway.

"Come on," urged Wes, "The exit to the lab is this way."

At a dead sprint, May followed the ex-Snagger through the hall, making a quick left turn. The halls were bare, and their footsteps echoed, uncomfortably loud. May's nerves were on edge, at any second they might run into the enormous red-haired man, and he would rip them both to pieces…

She and Wes barreled through what looked like a tiny lounge room that branched off from the main hall. To her disappointment, the room wasn't empty. Men and women in strange uniforms complete with helmets and visors lounged in the couches and chairs, but jumped up at the sight of her and Wes.

"Hey! It's those brats the Boss wants!"

"Get them!"

"Almost there," called Wes over his shoulder as he and May blew past, the helmeted men and women beginning to give chase.

May screamed as one of the men lunged at her, nearly managing to pull her down into a heap on the floor. Wes slowed slightly—he had been just ahead of May—and kicked at the man, still running, hitting him square in the knees.

The man fell, causing all of the other helmeted men and women to crash into him and pile on top of him, all tangled up.

"Yes!" May cried exultantly.

Up ahead was a dead-end, but May could just make out a pair of elevator doors. Just as she and Wes reached them, they slid open silently, revealing an empty elevator waiting for them. Without pause, both of them leapt inside and Wes pounded the "up" arrow, causing the doors to slide shut.

"That was amazing!" May said jubilantly, in-between gasps for breath as they began to rise. "I thought for a second those guys back there had us! And it all happened so _fast_!"

Wes leaned his back against the side of the elevator, panting only slightly. "Yeah…"

"It's a long way up, isn't it?" May asked a few seconds later, when they had both caught their breath. "We were deep underground."

Wes nodded. "It shouldn't be long. We're almost out."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Rui scanned the endless sea of sand far below her and Altaria intently, willing her eyes to find the building that would be the old Shadow Pokemon Lab. She had lost track of time after she and Brenden had first taken off, and wasn't sure how long they had been flying.

It had been quite awhile, though.

She glanced off to her left. In the distance, she could barely make out Brenden, flying on another bird-Pokemon. He hadn't seen anything, either.

Rui turned back to looking down again. At first, the height had scared her, but then she had remembered that she needed to be brave in order to save Wes, her gallant prince. He had been brave and saved her before, after all. So she had pushed her fear away, and now it was much easier to peer over the side of Altaria's back.

Suddenly, Rui gasped. She could see it. There it was—the white building surrounded by an electrical fence sitting desolately out in the middle of the desert, with no apparent signs of life. The lab.

"Altaria, call Brenden!" Rui shouted over the whistling of the wind.

Altaria gave a loud, piercing cry that almost seemed to echo through Rui's ears. But the sharp cry worked; Rui saw Brenden's head jerk in her direction. Waving and pointing down wildly, Rui tried to get the message across—she'd found it.

"Land, Altaria," Rui ordered as Brenden started towards her.

Her Altaria angled its wings downward and began a gentle descent towards the lab. To Rui's satisfaction, Brenden followed suit, gliding along down with her. Together, they landed right in front of the lab's entrance, sailing over the electrical fence with ease.

"So this is it," Brenden said as he recalled the two bird-Pokemon back into their Pokeballs for a well-earned break. "No guards outside?"

Rui shook her head. "There never were before. I guess they thought that the electric fence by itself would be good enough to stop anyone unwanted from entering."

She and Brenden stared at the doorway into the lab for a few moments, silent.

"Well," Brenden said at last, looking grim, "Let's go…"

Before anything else could be said, the door to the lab burst open, making them both jump. To Rui's delight, it was both Wes and May who emerged from the doorway, blinking in the bright sunlight.

"Wes!" With a happy cry, Rui flung herself on Wes in a tight embrace.

She felt him stiffen in her arms, but then he relaxed and stood still, patiently waiting for Rui to let go.

Finally she stepped back, still unaware of May and Brenden greeting one another in a similar fashion.

"Are you okay, Wes?" Rui asked anxiously, noting his rather ragged appearance.

Wes was looking back at her with an amused gleam in his eyes. "Now that you're here, I'm fine."

Rui laughed happily and hugged him all over again.

"We need to get out of here," May urged from next to Brenden. "Those guys in helmets could be coming up the elevator right now."

"Guys in helmets?" Brenden asked blankly.

"Cipher Peons?" Rui wondered.

"Yes," Wes answered to both of them.

May drew a Pokeball. "I have a Ralts that knows Teleport."

"Since when do you have a Ralts?" Brenden demanded.

May grinned. "I loved Wally's Gardevoir, so I decided that I would train a Ralts."

"Wally?" wondered Rui.

"A friend from back home," May began to explain. "I helped him catch his first—"

"Let's get out of here," Wes interrupted tersely.

May nodded. "Right. Go, Ralts!"

"It'll take us back to Phenac," Brenden explained as the little green Pokemon with the white front appeared. "Since that was the city where May last used a Poke Center."

"Phenac is good enough," Wes responded flatly.

"Ralts," ordered May, "Use Teleport!"

There was a flash of light, and the front of the lab way out in the middle of the desert was empty and deserted once more.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ein looked up from his work on the computer when he heard the door slide open. What could they possibly want now? They had Wes back, and the Snagger was now silent and unmoving in his restraints, save for his breathing. Why did they always have to _bother_ him so much; didn't they know he was trying to work on something here?

He was quick to stand, however, when he saw who it was.

"Master Nascour," he said, slightly cautious, but very respectful.

Nascour himself stood in the doorway to the room. His no-longer red eyes were emotionless, and he had traded in his wild purple outfit for a much more modest black suit, which in Ein's silent opinion looked much better.

Nascour stepped into the room, though it seemed like he was gliding rather than stepping. For a moment, he did not answer Ein, and instead glided across the room, coming to a stop near the table Wes was fixed to, looking down at the sleeping boy.

"I see you were successful." Nascour's voice was cool and level, though there was an ominous darkness behind the composure.

"Barely," Ein retorted dryly, though he was careful to keep respect in his tone as well. "I still think Gonzap wants to kill him."

"Gonzap will contain himself," Nascour answered, a slight warning in his voice. "Or I will be most displeased; never mind what Master Evice thinks."

Ein nodded, his sharp mind figuring that it would be safer to remain silent on that one.

Nascour's gaze ran over the broken arm, and the bruises and scrapes. "Have him fixed up. He won't be of any use looking like that. Venus still has her Blissey, correct?"

"Correct, sir. We'll see to it right away."

"Where is the Snag Machine?" Nascour's flinty steel-gray eyes looked up to scrutinize Ein.

"We're not sure, sir," Ein answered truthfully, meeting Nascour's gaze. He prided himself on his own cool composure; there was no need to break down now. "We meant to interrogate him once Shady was out of the building."

"Shady left an hour ago," Nascour answered dismissively, "I myself was here to experience the ruckus it caused. You, being the scientist caught up in his work, did not hear a thing."

"My apologies, sir," Ein said stiffly. He hated when his work was looked down on or criticized. "But, as I am sure you are aware of, this work is important for—"

"Yes, I know," Nascour interrupted calmly. "But wait for the boy to wake by himself. No need for him to be disturbed now. And be somewhat gentle in your interrogations. With the stubborn ones, I have found that if you work with them, they'll agree much swifter than if you threaten them every step of the way."

"Yes, sir."

Nascour turned and glided back for the door. It was what he always did. Stalk around the lab for a few hours, before disappearing once more, most likely reporting to Evice.

"And keep up your work, Ein," he drawled from the hallway as the door slid shut.

Muttering under his breath, Ein returned to his computer.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Wes opened his eyes wearily. He couldn't even remember falling asleep on the damn table, but there he was. He was still tightly bound to the table on his back, mouth still taped, and he could feel stiffness down into his bones.

But his broken arm had been fixed, and his ribs seemed a bit less sore than they had been. Now that he thought about it, Venus did somehow have a Blissey, which were known for their extraordinary healing powers over Pokemon and humans alike.

He raised his head weakly. From what he could see, he was entirely alone in the room. Not that it was a bonus or anything. He couldn't do anything in his current state; alone or not.

Wes rested his head back on the table wearily. He was trapped and cornered, with no way out in sight.

Why couldn't he have warned May about Shady? He didn't know. The thought had never crossed his mind; he hadn't even expected Gonzap and the rest of them to come up with a plan to switch him and Shady—something like that needed brainpower, which wasn't plentiful amongst this group. Must've been Ein.

Wes heaved a heavy sigh wearily.

He wasn't sure how long he had been dozing fitfully when Ein came in, first going to his computer before turning around to survey Wes. Wes looked back at him emotionlessly.

"Done with your tantrum?" Ein asked finally, brushing his lone strand of wild hair out of his face, where it had been dangling limply. Ein himself looked a little haggard, Wes noted, as if he had been working long, hard hours lately. "Shady's gone now. He and the girl escaped some hours ago."

Wes said nothing. He couldn't anyway, with his mouth taped shut.

Ein moved out of Wes's sight, and Wes could hear the rustling of papers and the soft clink of vials and test tubes.

"We've fixed you up," Ein continued loftily, "As I'm sure you've probably noticed."

Only so Gonzap can tear me apart again, Wes thought bitterly.

Ein appeared overhead suddenly, looking down at Wes coolly. His arm flashed, and he ripped the tape completely off of Wes's mouth in one swift movement.

Wes's eyes watered slightly from the pain—that had _stung_—but he held in the small yelp that had nearly escaped his lips. Instead, he took in a few rasping breaths through his mouth, and coughed.

"Impressive," Ein said dryly, walking around the side of the table to toss the tape into a small trashcan. "I trust that you can contain yourself now on your own?"

Wes spat out a curse in reply, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Pleasant."

The door opened to admit Miror B. and Gonzap. Gonzap stomped right up to the table to peer down at Wes with a smirk of triumph, but Miror B. stopped and picked up Shady's red trench coat, which had still been lying where Shady had dumped it on the floor. With a flourish, the dancing man dropped it on Wes's stomach.

"Marvelous!" Miror B. struck another horrific pose.

"Shady's made his escape," Gonzap said, successfully ignoring the tall man with the afro. "He and the girl should be on their way to Phenac, and back to that little red-head of yours."

"Tell me something I don't already know," Wes shot back with a glare.

Gonzap grinned. "I thought I'd let you do the honors." Suddenly he slammed his hands down on Wes's already pinned shoulders. "Tell _us_ something we don't know. What'd you do with the Snag Machine, you little—"

"We've already fixed him up once," Ein complained, interrupting. "No need to do it again."

"Let me up," Wes hissed, thrashing once under the restraints.

"Tell us what you did with it, first," snarled Gonzap, "That Snag Machine belonged to me when you ripped it off, and it still does—"

"Let me up first," snapped Wes.

Miror B. dropped his pose, and for once, sounded annoyed. "Oh just let him up. This is going nowhere."

Wes had never agreed with anything Miror B. had ever said in his life, but for once, he made an exception.

With a low growl, Gonzap ripped the restrains pinning Wes down off, as if they were mere ribbons. Wes quickly rolled off the table to his feet, ignoring the stiff feeling in his back and limbs. It felt good to stand.

"Now tell us," Gonzap ordered. "Where is the Snag Machine?"

"Fine," Wes snapped as he considered the red coat he now held, "I hid it, alright?"

"Where?" demanded Ein.

Wes gave a soft sigh—it just felt too weird to be without a coat—before shrugging the red coat on. "Somewhere where you can't find it."

In a flash Gonzap leapt at Wes, slamming him into the wall, narrowly missing Ein.

"Stop being a damn smart-aleck," he hissed, livid. "Or I'll—"

"Gonzap."

Gonzap released Wes and spun around. Nascour, dressed a bit differently than Wes remembered, was standing in the doorway to the room calmly. Miror B. took a step backwards, out of fear and respect, while Ein wore a small smirk.

Nascour glided into the room, coming to a stop near the table Wes had just been released from. "If you carry out whatever threat you were just about to make, you realize that I would be most displeased."

Gonzap muttered what sounded like an apology inaudibly, before stepping aside so Nascour could see Wes.

Wes shrank back slightly, an alarm going off inside his head. He had never liked Nascour; ever since the day they had first met in Phenac city, when Wes had been taking Rui to the mayor's—who turned out to be Evice, the overlord of Cipher—house, Wes had just sensed a darkness about Nascour, even without Rui's help. And here he was again.

"Ah, we meet again, Wes," Nascour drawled, surveying Wes up and down. "I haven't seen you since the day you Snagged my Metagross, correct? Tell me, how is it doing…? Fully Purified, I'm sure…"

Wes didn't answer, simply watching Nascour—and Gonzap out of the corner of his eye—warily.

"I just came in to say I'm off," Nascour continued in his drawling voice, "And that I expect more progress to be made now that _he's_ been captured." He nodded towards Wes. "I'll be sure to return." With that, he left.

For a moment, even Miror B. was silent.

"Forget this crap," Gonzap snapped finally, rounding on Wes, "If you're not going to tell us where the damn machine is, you're going to show us."

He yanked Wes out of the room, Wes trying frantically to maintain his footing as he was towed along mercilessly. Miror B. pranced after them, chatting animatedly.

Ein watched them go; turning around only after the door had shut behind them. He sank down in front of his computer contentedly. If the Snagger remained as stubborn as he was already, they wouldn't be back for quite some time, giving him plenty of opportunity to finish his work and preparations in peace.

The scientist was caught up in his work again.

* * *

I sort of winged it with this chapter. Can you tell? 

Nascour has arrived! Dun dun dun. I like Nascour, but I changed his clothes because the whole purple get-up was very frightening. Heh.

And I don't know what I'm going to do about Evice. Evice scares me; yes he does...


	9. Car Rides, Dinner, and Disappearance

Sorry for the slow update, guys. I've been working on something else lately, so my apologies.

* * *

Wes sat wearily in the torn-up backseat of the old van, his arms folded tightly around himself. Miror B. and Venus sat two seats ahead of him, while Gonzap and one Grunt sat in the front two seats; Gonzap in the passenger seat, while the Grunt drove. 

There was a tense, heavy silence in the car as it bounced along over the sand in the direction of Pyrite. Pyrite wasn't exactly the location of the Snag Machine, but it was the first town Wes had been able to yelp out after Gonzap had nearly flattened him, demanding the location of the machine.

Wes wasn't exactly sure what he would tell Gonzap once they reached the town. Sorry, but this isn't the place? Just the mere thought of Gonzap's response to that had Wes pressing his back into the seat, shrinking back. He wasn't exactly afraid of Gonzap, but he remembered well Gonzap's thorough beatings if displeased.

And Wes wasn't too fond of pain.

There was also the matter of Espeon and Umbreon. His two best friends were now in Gonzap's greasy clutches, something Wes did not like at all. He had to come up with something to get them back—once he had their Pokeballs in his hands, even Gonzap would be aware that there was no way of making Wes let go.

"Could we listen to some radio?" whined Miror B., breaking the silence.

"No," snapped Gonzap through gritted teeth from the front seat when the Grunt looked at him questioningly.

"You're no fun," Miror B. grumbled, slightly put out.

"Can we shop?" demanded Venus huffily.

"No," Gonzap growled.

Wes could tell that all their moods were slowly worsening.

"Then what is the point of this!" Venus exclaimed indignantly, brushing her veils briefly out of her face with impatience. "You say we're going to town; why can't I shop?"

Gonzap glared at her through the rearview mirror. "Would you like to take this up with Masters Nascour and Evice? This is a business trip, not a field trip."

Venus shook her head, and turned away to look out the window, mumbling something about "Just because you're the Boss's new favorite…" under her breath.

Gonzap's gaze in the mirror flickered to Wes, who glared right back with passion. For a moment, Team Snagem Boss and Snagger glared at one another with deep loathing, before Gonzap's eyes flitted back to the window dismissively.

And thus the irritating car-ride continued.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

With May and Brenden long returned to their hotel room, Rui returned to her own house with Wes. She was still so happy and glad that everything had turned out perfectly—Wes and May had been rescued safely, and unharmed.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she said, hugging Wes for the umpteenth time. She stepped back, flushing slightly. "Sorry…I know you don't like it when I do that, but…"

Wes wore one of his placid, content looks that Rui had only seen him wear when around her.

"I don't care," he answered evenly. "I'm just as glad to be out of there as you are to have me back."

Rui smiled brightly, but then it faded slightly. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"It's a given, Rui."

"But not too badly?" she asked anxiously.

Wes glanced down at himself. "I seem fine to me," he answered wryly.

Rui laughed, her large blue eyes bright.

Wes just gave her a lazy grin.

"Are you hungry? Wait, never mind, you never eat anyway. But tonight I'm going to make you," Rui said firmly.

"If you say so."

Rui ignored him and thought a moment. "What sounds good…? I don't have much in the kitchen, but I could make a quick trip to the store…"

"Restaurant," Wes said suddenly. "My treat."

"Really?" Rui asked, thrilled.

"No, I'm only kidding," Wes answered dryly. "Now go get your coat—it's cold at night in a desert."

He watched her hurry happily into the hallway, headed towards her room near the back of the house. Once he was sure she was out of sight, he pulled out a PDA.

Glancing up briefly to reassure himself Rui hadn't returned, he typed a small, short e-mail, signed it _Shady_, and sent it.

Quickly, he tucked the PDA away again, and then settled back onto the couch with a grimace to wait for that annoying red-head to return.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What do you mean, 'it's not here'?" Gonzap said in a low voice. The low voice was probably the most deadly—it meant that he was about to explode, taking everything out within twenty yards.

Wes held his ground, ignoring the stares of the Cipher Admins, concentrating his gaze on Gonzap.

They were just inside the entrance of Pyrite, having reached the town only moments before.

"Would you like me to spell it out, _boss_?" Wes put a very slight exaggeration on the last word sardonically; the temptation had been too great to resist.

"You little—" Gonzap was too enraged to finish his sentence. He lunged at Wes blindly, arms outstretched to capture him in his death-grip.

Wes leapt back, putting the hood of the van between Gonzap and himself. "The Snag Machine's not here, Gonzap," he repeated, ready to spring away again at any sudden movement, "You can have the entire town searched if you'd like, but you won't find it."

"Then where?" Gonzap snarled, nearly jumping across the hood in an attempt to get at Wes.

Wes evaded him again, doubling back around the rear of the van. He had half a mind to take off running—he could easily lose them in the twisting network of streets and alleys of Pyrite—but Gonzap still had Espeon and Umbreon.

"Where is it, Wes?" hissed Gonzap's voice from near the front of the van. "It's _my_ property. If it's not here, then where? Phenac? Agate? The Under? Because I swear, if you're playing your shitty little games with me, I'll take your little rats you consider Pokemon and—"

"Then you'll never get the Snag Machine," Wes blurted out, desperate to save Espeon and Umbreon from whatever Gonzap was planning to do with them. "Because I need them, _both_ of them, to get your stupid machine."

Wes came cautiously back to the front of the van, where Miror B., Venus, and Gonzap stood and waited, watching him. They all ignored the Grunt, who remained in the driver's seat of the car, looking terrified at Gonzap's anger.

Gonzap seemed to be mollified—somewhat. "If you're lying—"

"I'm not." Wes interrupted firmly.

"Then where's the Snag Machine at?"

"I'm not telling you until I get Espeon and Umbreon back." Wes hoped fervently that this would work.

"Oh, just give him his Pokemon!" Miror B. said, stomping a platform-shoed foot impatiently. "I'd rather not stand here all day listening to you both argue!" He twirled wildly to emphasize his point.

Venus was nodding her agreement. "Let's just get on with it. Honestly, I could be shopping now…"

Wes silently thanked Celebi for their impatience to be elsewhere.

Gonzap growled something inaudibly under his breath, digging into his pockets to produce both Pokeballs containing Espeon and Umbreon. He unceremoniously hurled them at Wes, who caught them quickly and easily.

He checked carefully to make sure that they were really his and actually contained Espeon and Umbreon—he wouldn't put it past Gonzap to switch them or something of equal foul-play.

Satisfied, Wes fastened both Pokeballs to his belt, where they belonged. He looked back up at Gonzap, who was watching him like a hawk.

"Where is it, Wes?" Gonzap's teeth were gritted.

Wes gave an answer that made Miror B. nearly trip over his own platform-shoes, and made Venus gasp, hardly believing her ears. Even Gonzap's mouth dropped open slightly.

He didn't wait for Gonzap to unfreeze. Wes turned and ran, sprinting as fast as he could into Pyrite's twisting network of alleys, desperate to get himself hidden. If Gonzap caught him now, it was over.

He was half-aware, as he ran, of Gonzap pursuing him like an angry bull, screaming curses and insults at the top of his lungs as he tore after Wes, bent on 'snapping him in half like a twig'.

Due to his head-start, Wes managed to keep at least two alleys ahead of Gonzap, but his old boss's enraged bellows were drawing closer and closer. He threw himself into an ancient, half-rusted dumpster, and huddled down beneath the cardboard and old newspapers.

He waited, holding his breath. Gonzap would almost be here…

Gonzap shrieked past, his volley of curses fluid and never-ceasing now. Wes couldn't remember him this angry since he had blown up the Hideout. As he past, Gonzap punched the dumpster Wes was hiding in, denting it considerably, and nearly flattening Wes—though unintentionally—in the process.

Then he was gone, disappearing farther into the alley network, still under the impression he was chasing Wes.

Wes remained where he was, his heart pounding. He was lucky that Gonzap hadn't thought to check every box or trashcan along the way.

He decided to stay where he was for the time being—it was much safer than getting out and being spotted by Gonzap, Miror B., or Venus. He was dead if they did.

So he would wait. He would wait until he deemed it safe to crawl out of the dumpster, and then make his way to Phenac. He was impatient to get to Rui—Gonzap might warn Shady of Wes's escape—but in order to get to her, he would have to wait.

He was of no use to her if he was captured again.

Wes settled down to wait, listening intently for any sounds of Gonzap drawing near again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Halfway through dinner, Shady felt the PDA at his belt vibrate. He glanced at the red-head; she hadn't noticed. Nonchalantly, he pushed himself to his feet.

"Be right back," he said shortly. Without waiting for a reply, he headed towards the back of the restaurant, to where the bathrooms were.

Once inside the men's room, he slipped into a stall and locked it. Only then did he unclip his PDA from his belt, and opened it to see that he had received an e-mail from Gonzap. He glanced through it, and then snapped the PDA shut.

This was going to be interesting.

Shady slipped out of the stall, and headed back towards the table he and Rui had been sitting at.

Rui looked up at him cheerfully. "The waiter came by, but I told him to wait until you got back, so he should be back soon to take our order."

Shady could care less. "Come here," he said, "I want to show you something."

"Now?" Rui asked curiously. "We haven't eaten yet, though."

"It'll be really quick," Shady said, hiding his impatience. "Just come on."

Rui shrugged. "Okay."

She followed him out of the restaurant, and into the busy street; Phenac did have a large amount of night-life. As Shady pulled her through the crowd, he couldn't help but think that this was just too easy.

He pulled her aside into an alley, away from prying eyes, and silently drawing a Pokeball from his belt—his movements were hidden by the darkness.

"What's this about, Wes?" Rui asked, slight confusion in her voice. "This is an alley."

"Turn around," Shady instructed. "And just wait."

"Okay…" Rui did as she was told.

Silently, Shady released his Venusaur into the alley behind them. The bulky Pokemon barely fit, but it was good enough for Shady's needs.

"Alright," Shady said with a sly grin, "You can look."

Rui turned around and jumped. "What is that?"

"Sleep Powder," Shady snapped in reply.

Rui's eyes widened. "What are you—?"

The Venusaur twitched its flower, and a thin mist of pollen sprayed towards the red-head, catching her full on. Rui gave a sharp intake of breath, breathing in the pollen. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and then she swayed, before dropping.

Shady gave the Venusaur a quick pat before returning it to its Pokeball, and then took out his PDA again calmly, ignoring the limp red-head on the ground for the moment.

Too easy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The morning was bright, and the sky was cloudless as Brenden followed May sleepily down the street. In his opinion, the people in Phenac never slept.

"Come _on_, Brenden, wake up," May called over her shoulder, seeing him lagging behind. "Rui said that she and Wes would show us around the city."

It was amazing that she could be so active and ready to go after being kidnapped by a group of violent gang members, Brenden though idly.

They reached Rui's house; a quaint little thing in the suburbs of Phenac. May strode up to the front door and knocked loudly. Brenden caught up to her then, giving a small yawn.

"You're so lazy," May teased as they waited. She rang the doorbell.

"And proud of it," Brenden muttered.

May tapped her foot impatiently. "Why aren't they answering?"

Brenden peered through the front window. "It looks like no one's home." He stepped back to let May see.

"What?" May stared inside. "Where would they go, though?"

Brenden shrugged. "Maybe Wes needed to go to the Poke Center?"

"They would have waited for us," May answered dismissively. "I doubt they're still asleep…"

She knocked again, but still, no one answered.

* * *


	10. Only For Rui

My thanks to Dark Angel of the Underworld and QUEEN EEVEE PRINCESS PIKACHU for making me update. Sorry for the wait, guys.

* * *

Wes crept out of his hiding place hours later, slightly stiff. He hadn't meant to, but he had fallen asleep. Silently, he berated himself. Sleep was something you did when you were safe and secure. 

Hiding from a homicidal Gonzap in a dumpster didn't exactly fall into that category.

Despite that, the rest had been something Wes had needed, and he was feeling much better now. Gonzap, Venus, and Miror B. seemed to have given up on him—their van was nowhere in sight—so he deemed it safe to slip out of the alleyway.

His senses on high alert, Wes started for the entrance of Pyrite. Just because Gonzap was gone didn't mean he had sent in a few Grunts to keep watch. As long as they didn't jump him, Wes was confident he could deal with them. If they were actually here.

Wes reached down to the two Pokeballs on his belt beneath the red coat, drawing the one that contained Espeon. He released the lavender Pokemon, managing a brief, small grin when the Pokemon rubbed against him in relief.

He squatted down next to Espeon, putting a hand on the Pokemon's back. "You know what I need you to do."

He had been working with Espeon for some side-abilities; apart from the battle-moves and attacks. No one had ever tried it before, but Wes had done loads of things other people had never done before or were too afraid to try.

There had been mixed success, but he they had succeeded in accomplishing something that was similar to Teleport.

Espeon sat down beside him, the red gem on his forehead gleaming brightly. The familiar blue glow of the psychic powers the Pokemon possessed sprung up around them both as Espeon concentrated his power.

The entrance to Pyrite was suddenly empty.

…………………………………………………

Back at the Shadow Pokemon Lab, Shady dumped the still-sleeping redhead in front of Ein and Gonzap unceremoniously, looking up to give them a bored look.

"You told me to hurry it up," he said flatly, "So here I am. With the girl."

Gonzap laughed, throwing back his head. "Perfect! She'll wake up and see you working for me, and—"

"Just find a place to put her," Ein interrupted, turning back to his computer. "Preferably in the old Shadow Pokemon cages. I have enough clutter in here with you idiots around, and I don't need more."

"Wes will come _running_ when he finds out we have the girl," Gonzap hissed, looking the happiest he had been since he had been able to nearly tear Wes apart, "He'll be _easy_!"

Shady just grabbed one of the unconscious girl's arms and dragged her from the room, leaving Gonzap crowing in triumph and a seriously annoyed Ein.

"Alright!" snapped Ein, turning around again a few minutes after Shady had left. "Get out of here and prepare yourself! You know Wes the best out of all of us—he'll be looking for any loophole we might have left open. If you're going to blackmail him, do it _properly_."

Gonzap grinned wildly. "Oh, I have the perfect way of going about this. The little shit won't be able to refuse."

"That _would_ be the point," grumbled Ein as Gonzap left the room, nearly putting a dent through the wall with a fist from his excitement. "Idiot."

………………………………………………

May and Brenden were sitting on the front steps of Rui's porch, slowing growing more and more worried as no one showed up. May was on the verge of contacting whatever police Orre might have—despite Brenden's pleadings not to—when Wes showed up.

"Wes!" May leapt to her feet, running up to him as he appeared very suddenly in the driveway, Espeon at his side. "Where have you been! Where's Rui?"

Wes gave her a sharp look. "Where's Rui?" Espeon gave a soft hiss.

Brenden joined them, looking bemused. "We figured she was with you. Guess not. What's with the red coat?"

Wes turned away briefly to hide his frustration. They were too late. Espeon gave a low growl.

"Wes…?"

He turned around to face the two Trainers from Hoenn calmly. "The person you rescued from the lab wasn't me."

"What do you mean?" May asked, though she sounded slightly nervous. "Of course it was you."

Wes swallowed his impatience. "No it wasn't. It was this guy Shady…He looks exactly like me—I don't know how or why. But they traded him with me." He motioned to his red coat. "This coat is his. He's got my blue one."

May looked worried. "But…then…"

"We left Shady with Rui," Brenden, growing slightly pale, "Last night. Rui thought he was you, too. And now she's missing."

"I bet I know where she is," Wes said grimly, turning away and starting down the driveway. "Come on, Espeon."

"Wait!" called May as Espeon bounded after his master, "We want to come too! They seem intent on taking you out. We can help you. And Rui's my friend—I'm not going to leave her to some gang of criminals!"

"Suit yourself," Wes said, his tone growing slightly cold. "But this isn't going to be pretty."

"We're here to help, dude," Brenden said as he and May came to a stop next to Wes. "In whatever way we can."

Wes just nodded. It was good that they wanted to help, but he had a feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to end with the happy ending the two Hoenn Trainers seemed to have in mind.

He looked down at Espeon. "You know where we're going," he told the little Pokemon as the blue glow enveloped them, "Back to the Shadow Pokemon Lab."

……………………………………………

Rui stirred, her consciousness slowly drifting back. Her arms and legs all felt heavy, as if they were being weighed down by some invisible force, besides gravity. Her eyelids were heavy, too, and her head hurt. She laid still, trying to remember what had happened while she took in her surroundings sleepily.

She was lying in one of the thick-glass cages she remebered that used to hold Shadow Pokemon. So she was in the old lab...

And suddenly, memory hit her. She had been at a restaurant, happy and content. She had been with Wes. Everything had been going well; he and May had been safely rescued from the Shadow Pokemon Lab and no one was hurt.

But then...Wes had led her out of the restaurant, and into a gloomy alley. She had been a little nervous about what exactly he was doing, but she trusted him completely—Wes was her hero, anyway. But then he had called out a Venusaur, and had ordered it to attack her! And now she was trapped in the Shadow Pokemon Lab, all alone...

Rui's eyes threatened to water. Why had Wes done this to her? She was his best friend, his partner. She thought he liked her. And where had he gotten that Venusaur? Had he Snagged it from someone? She hadn't had enough time back in the alley to examine the Pokmeon's aura—there was a chance that it was a Shadow Pokemon. But why would Wes have it attack her?

Her heart sank. What if it hadn't been a Shadow Pokemon, and Wes had Snagged it from an innocent Trainer?

Had Wes returned to his old Snagger ways?

……………………………………………

Shady lounged back in Ein's chair near the computer lazily, watching as the genius scientist worked quickly to put together some sort of tranquilizer—according to Ein, Wes should be arriving at the lab any time in pursuit of the redhead, and it was vital that he was quickly "taken care of" for everything to go smoothly.

"So why is this brat so important?" rumbled Dakim from his position across the room, standing with his arms folded. "Why can't I just rip him apart?"

"Because he knows where our last portable Snag Machine is," Ein replied absently, carefully measuring out three drops of some sort of green-looking liquid into the vial he was using for the tranquilizer. "That machine is Cipher's property and Master Evice would like it back."

"Why not just make another one, Ein?" Venus asked coyly, batting her eyelashes. She was nearby, watching Ein with rapt attention.

At first Ein didn't answer. It was true that it would have been much easier to just construct an entirely brand-new Snag Machine: it would have been faster and much less of a hassle. But what Master Evice wanted, he would surely get...

"Master Evice demands that we get the one the little brat has hidden," he answered at last, stirring the contents of his vial briefly. "And Master Evice wantsWes to make a special Snag for him. I will admit that Wes has the skill that will be needed in order to Snag the Pokemon Master Evice desires. Was he not the best of Gonzap's Team?"

"What's the Snag?" Shady asked, ignoring the question.

"Even I haven't been given all the details," Ein answered icily. Their questions were distracting. "Master Nascour has only told me to have my Shadow Pokemon devices ready—whatever Pokemon Wes is to Snag will be made into a Shadow Pokemon."

The door slid open and Miror B. leapt into the room, his afro bobbing wildly. "Our little darling is here!" he announced with gutso. "He's just triggered the sensors at the entrance!"

Shady pushed himself to his feet, stretching.

"The rest of you move into position," Ein snapped, adding one last ingredient to his vial. "You know what has to happen. I'll be ready in a few moments."

"Oh, the musicshall play on!" Miror B. clapped his handsand then twirled out of the room, nearly clubbing Venus with his afro as she followed him out. Dakim shuffled out, bending slightly in order to fit under the doorway, followed closely by Shady.

Ein stirred his vial one last time, before carefully pouring the contents into the waiting doctor's shot he had lying out on the counter. He slipped the shot into one of his labcoat pockets, setting the now empty vial down. Wes needed to be contained before he reached the girl, so Shady could do his final act.

Once Dakim had Wes down, Ein could slip the needle into the boy's arm, with a most satisfying result...

He hurried out the door, footsteps echoing off the halls as he went to join Dakim. It wasjust a matter of time, now.

……………………………………………

Wes and Espeon appeared right outside the entrance of the lab, along with Brenden and May. As always, the entrance was silent and unguarded. Espeon sagged slightly, tired from the use of his psychic powers. Wes gave his friend a little pat of thanks, before returning the little Pokemon to hisPokeball for a rest.

He glanced at the two Hoenn Trainers. Their faces were set with determination as they waited to follow Wes's lead. They were ready.

Wes took in a breath, and then headed into the lab. The Shadow Pokemon Lab; a place where he had once promised himself that he would never return to.

Only for Rui, he thought grimly as they stepped inside; out of the heat of the desert and into the cold air conditioning. Only for Rui.

* * *


	11. Blackmailed Into Submission

Here we go again.

* * *

The elevator ride down into the main part of the lab was tense and silent. Wes was expressionless, but Brenden's face was tight and drawn, and May looked nervous. He had a feeling they were both having second thoughts as they descended underground. 

They came to a stop and the elevator doors slid silently open, revealing an empty hallway. Everything was eerily silent. Wes's senses, sharpened from his time with Team Snagem, were alert and on edge. May and Brenden followed him as he stepped out of the elevator, thier footsteps echoing slightly.

All three of them moved cautiously forward, deeper into the lab. Wes had a feeling that Rui would be in the Shadow Pokemon cages—it was where they had put him and May, anyway. And it made sense.

The silence was deafening.

* * *

Rui had managed to sit up, most of the Sleep Powder effect wearing off. She felt very alone and very small as she huddled near the center of her prison, wondering what was going to happen to her. 

She still refused to believe that Wes had gone back to his old Snagger ways. It made her heart wilt to think of him as a criminal, under the command of Gonzap. Hadn't he always made it clear to her that he hated Team Snagem...?

The door to the room of the thick-glassed cages slid open. Rui jumped to her feet as Wes entered, and her heart leapt—he had come to rescue her! She smiled, knowing that soon everything would be okay.

But then Gonzap followed him in, looking particularly smug. Rui's heart sank. Wes didn't even look like he cared that he was with his old boss. Surely, if he had been captured, he would be fighting every step of the way?

"Wes," she called, worried. "What's going on!"

Roaring with laughter, Gonzap punched in the code that would open the door to Rui's cell. The door opened and he stood back, allowing Wes to stand in the doorway. Rui moved to go to him, relieved to see that he was seemingly unharmed.

She stopped short when he drew a small handgun, aiming it right at her. Terrified, Rui froze, eyes wide and afraid as she looked at Wes, silently begging him to tell her what was wrong.

"Don't come near me," Wes spat, cocking the gun with a click,"Or I'll kill you."

* * *

Wes rounded a corner carefully, making sure there was no one waiting around the bend. They hadn't even run into a Peon yet, so he was very suspicious as to where everyone was. He knew they were here, lying in wait for him somewhere... 

A door to their right burst open suddenly, revealing Miror B. and Venus. Wes leapt backwards, keeping out of their reach.

"Shall we battle?" cried Venus, tossing out two Pokeballs. In a flash of light, a Vileplume and a Dusclops appeared.

"I got her!" shouted May, releasing Pokemon of her own. A Blaziken and a Swellow moved to face off against Venus's Pokemon.

"Let's dance!" called Miror B., letting out Pokemon of his own. As was to be expected, he released two Ludicolo, both of them dancing along with their master.

"You've got to be kidding me," muttered Brenden. He drew two Pokeballs, and turned to Wes. "We'll take care of these two. You keep going and find Rui!"

Wes nodded his thanks, and slipped off down the hall as Brenden released a Swampert and a Manectric. Shouts and the impacts of attacks from the two battles taking place followed him as he made his way down the hall, growing fainter as he got farther and farther away.

Grimly, he was beginning to get a feel for his enemies' plans: Venus and Miror B. had known that May and Brenden would stay behind to battle them, in order for Wes to continue on. Now Wes was alone, separated from his companions; making him all the more vulnerable.

He came to an elevator that would take him even deeper underground and deeper into the lab; down to the level where the room of the thick-glassed cages were. Where Rui would be. He stepped inside, and remained still as the elevator shot downwards.

When the door opened, he barely had time to blink before a large hand grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and yanked him roughly out of the elevator, throwing him like a rag doll against the opposite wall.

Obviously, he had found Dakim.

Stunned by the impact, Wes didn't even have time to scramble to his feet before Dakim was towering over him. He reached down and picked Wes up easily, one large meaty hand enclosing around Wes's neck. He shoved Wes back against the wall and held him there.

Wes kicked and struggled, but Dakim's grip was too strong and he was running out of air. Dakim merely pressed down harder, crushing more air out of Wes's lungs.

Wes got a lucky kick in, hitting Dakim smack in the privates. Dakim roared in pain, reflexively releasing his hold on Wes. Wes dropped to the ground and quickly dragged himself away, panting, while Dakim's roars echoed around him.

He hadn't made it far when there was a sharp blow to the back of his head, causing him to see Staryus as he was lifted off the floor again. Growling like an animal, Dakim slammed Wes against the wall again, holding him up so that his boots dangled a good foot or two off the ground.

Suddenly there was a sharp stinging in his arm, and he glanced over groggily to see Ein. Where the hell had _he_ come from? Wes watched, as if in slow-motion, as the liquid in the needle that was now embedded deeply into his arm drained into him.

Slowly, he stopped kicking; falling still in Dakim's grasp. His muscles felt like they each weighed hundreds of pounds...It was so hard to move...

Ein removed the needle, looking satisfied. "It's working," he assured Dakim, slipping the needle intoone of his pockets,"You can let him go. He won't be able to go anywhere."

Dakim let go and stepped back, looking as if he'd rather just pound Wes into the ground. Wes collapsed, gasping for breath as he landed hard on the ground, still up against the wall. His ribs felt like they had been crushed to dust...

He couldn't move his arms and legs at all, and while he maintained a blank expression on his face, he was inwardly panicking. Trapped, trapped, trapped...

"We've got him here," Ein was saying into his hand, where Wes could only assume was a small walkie-talkie kind of thing. "Tell the others to finish up."

Wes coughed, choking on a fluid that rushed into his mouth, setting his tastebuds off with its tangy flavor. He spat, only to discover his spit was bright red—with his own blood.

Ein cursed, taking his hand away from his mouth. "What the hell did you do, Dakim?"

Dakim had hobbled a few feet away, glaring darkly in Wes's direction. "Gave him what he deserved." His voice wasn't nearly as deep as it usually was.

Wes coughed again, and Ein sighed irritably as he crouched down in front of him. He tried to pull away, but he still couldn't move at all and was forced to sit still as Ein prodded his ribs.

"You broke one or two of his ribs," Ein announced, still speaking only to Dakim. "I can bind him up here and all that, but I'm more of a Pokemon expert, anatomically. We'll have to get him to a hospital." He pushed himself to his feet, flicking a speck of dust off his labcoat. "But that's not _my_ problem."

"Why's he bleeding, then?" demanded Dakim. "It's just a broken bone."

"Because, you idiot," Ein replied icily, blowing his wild strand of hair out of his face with a puff of breath, "The bone probably ripped something open on his inside, and it's bleeding."

Dakim grumbled something in reply, still glaring darkly at Wes.

Wes glared right back. The glare faded when the world starting growing fuzzy, and he shivered woozily.

"You had better not pass out yet," Ein warned, addressing him for the first time. Wes ignored him.

The door opened and Miror B. waltzed in, followed by Venus. Wes didn't take that as a good sign—that meant that May and Brenden had either been defeated, or even killed. And sitting on the floor, surrounded by his enemies and unable to move, Wes could do nothing.

"Everything's in place," Venus said cheerfully.

Ein was talking into his hand again, muttering too lowfor Wes to hear. He was fiddling with a large monitor with his other hand, talking fast. He stood back when a picture blinked into view on the screen, looking satisfied.

Wes could see theimage from where he sat. He stared blankly for a few moments, beyond caring about his pain anymore.

It was the glass cell room.Gonzap was there, looking extremely smug and amused. He seemed to know where the camera was, because he looked right up at them and grinned widely. Shady was at one of the cell doors, still dressed in Wes's blue coat, pointing a gun directly at Rui.

As he watched, a group of Peons marched in, dragging the limp forms of Brenden and May. He could only hope that they were merely unconscious. But at the moment, Wes didn't care about them. His eyes were on Shady, and more importantly, Rui.

She looked confused and terrified as she stared down the end of the gun Shady pointed at her. From her view, it would look like Wes had rejoined Team Snagem, and was about to shoot her. For some reason, that hurt Wes more than the pain from his ribs; more than any other pain he had ever gone through.

"You can still save her." Ein stood off to one side from the screen, sizing up Wes coolly. For once, Venus and Miror B. were silent, and even Dakim had stopped his muttered growls.

Wes forced himself to look over at the scientist, his face still blank with shock and pain.

"You know what we want. Rejoin Team Snagem, and you have our word that little Rui isn't harmed. We'll release her and her two friends without a scratch. You'll be back underneath Gonzap's lead, of course, but would you rather have Rui dead?"

Wes didn't answer. It was blackmail. And he was completely cornered, without a chance to escape. Even if he was so heartless as to resist them now, they would kill Rui and still force him to join. They had deliberately made it so that he really only had one option.

"She'll die thinking you shot her," Ein continued into Wes's silence. "Shady looks just like you. He'll be able to smear your name just as easily as Fein dida couple years ago. He can make sure that people won't trust you again after th—"

"Alright," Wes interrupted, his voice coming out like a choked sob. He didn't care. He didn't want to hear more. "You win. I'll do what you want. Just...Just let her go."

Ein gave a razor-thin smile. "Good choice." He turned away, back to murmuring into his hand.

Wes felt numb as the screen went blank. He wasn't worried that they would go back on their word and kill Rui now that he had agreed—killing Rui now would be a waste; they could always use her death as a threat in order to completely control him.

His eyes flickered shut and his body slumped as he finally lost consciousness, sinking down to hide from his pain and regret, just like he used to in the old days.

* * *

"Wes," cried Rui, her eyes wide, "What's going on?" 

Wes didn't answer, still pointing his gun directly at her, golden eyes icy. She desperately searched his face for any sign that this was all an act, but to her dismay, she found none.

"He's a member of Team Snagem again," Gozap said with a wide grin. "He doesn't need you around anymore."

A group of Peons entered, carring Brenden and May between glanced at them briefly, fearing the worst, but was relieved to see them still breathing. Only unconscious. Her big blue eyes looked back to Wes, pained.

"Wes, please—" she begged.

"Turn around, Rui," he snapped, interrupting her. He still had the gun aimed at her.

Sobbing, Rui still did as she was told, in a weak effort to show him she was still loyal. Her heart felt like it was being torn in two as she faced the cement corner of the cell, shaking. She waited for the sound of gunshot.

Instead there was a sharp blow to the back of her head, and she fell forward as everything went black.

* * *

Well. The reason this story is called "Blackmail" is revealed. As if you all couldn't guess in the first place. 

Also, for those of you who have the layout of the game memorized—yes, I did change the layout of the Shadow Pokemon Lab a little bit. Technically, to reach the room with all the glass cells that supposedly used to hold Shadow Pokemon, you don't have to take an elevator. For those of you who are offended by this, remember not to hurt the elevator's feelings; try to hurt mine.

Good luck with that.


	12. Just Like Old Times

Kai's Snowfall — I agree with you on your statement about Nascour's purple outfit. Scary, isn't it? And thank you for answering my question! I see what you mean.

* * *

When Rui's eyes fluttered open, two pale faces were peering down at her, with the same worried expressions. She sat up, blinking wearily, as Brenden and May sat back a little to give her space. 

"Are you okay?" asked May in a small voice.

At first Rui didn't answer. She felt sore all over, and her heart still felt as if it had been wrenched hopelessly in half after what had happened in the Shadow Pokemon Lab. She preoccupied herself with taking in her surroundings, surprised to find herself back in her room, propped up on pillows on her bed.

"How'd we get back here?"

"When May and I woke up, we were all in some ditch on the outside of Phenac," Brenden answered. "They must have dumped us there while we were unconscious.We found your house key in your pocket, so we just came back here..."

The harsh truth of the situation hit Rui hard suddenly, and she started to sob. May moved forward to hug her, but Rui barely noticed. Wes was lost to her...He was back with the bad guys...

May released her gently, sitting back again once Rui's sobs had quieted. She had guessed what had happened when Rui had burst into tears—the bad guys had finally gotten Wes."We'll get him out of there, Rui."

Rui wiped her eyes, feeling slightly worn out all over again. "B-but he w-willingly r-rejoined..."

Brenden cocked an eyebrow. "Wes rejoined that Team? Willingly? I'll bet he didn't."

Rui looked up, confused.

"The guy we rescued from the Shadow Pokemon Lab wasn't actually Wes," May explained quickly. "It was another guy who looks like Wes. His name is Shady. So it wasn't really Wes who kidnapped you: it was Shady."

"Wes escaped on his own and came back to your house," Brenden continued the narrative, "but Shady had already kidnapped you. May and I were here, because we'd discovered that you were gone and didn't know where you were. Wes met up with us and he explained everything."

"Shady has on Wes's blue coat, while Wes has on Shady's red coat," added May. "Gonzap switched them on purpose in order to confuse us. I'll bet this entire thing was one big set-up in order to get back at Wes."

Rui could hardly believe what she was being told, but she felt traces of hope stir up inside herself. So Wes hadn't really been the one ready to shoot her, it had been this Shady?

Suddenly she gasped, remembering her partner's earlier words. "But if it was Shady who was with me, where was Wes in the lab?" she asked urgently.

May looked troubled. "After Wes told us about Shady, we went straight to the lab to find you. We were together, but then we were attacked by that crazy lady and the guy with the huge afro. Brenden and I stayed to battle them, and Wes went on by himself to find you. I don't know what happened to him."

Rui's heart sank. "Wes told me that Gonzap and the rest of them were after him. He thought they even might try to get him to rejoin Team Snagem. This proves it. When he went by himself, he was probably attacked by Dakim—he's so big he could have easily beaten Wes up." She paused, swallowing. "Then they probably made him watch Shady with me at gunpoint; there had to have been a camera in there somewhere."

"So they threatened him that if he didn't rejoin the Team, they'd kill him," concluded Brenden, looking disgusted. "Blackmail."

"And obviously he agreed in order to keep you safe," May added, sounding worried. "Otherwise we'd all be dead."

Rui pushed herself to her feet, a determined expression set on her face. "Then we've got to rescue him!"

"Of course we will," May answered.

"But even if we do get Wes outta there, they're just going to keep attacking," Brenden reminded her, his eyes grave.

"Wes can fight them once he knows I'm okay," Rui answered confidently. "Together we can get rid of Gonzap and the rest for good."

Brenden hesitated, but then grinned. "Alright, Boss. Just tell us what to do."

* * *

Laid out once more on Ein's stainless-steel table, Wes was still and pale, his eyes shut and body limp. The scientist bent over to check the boy's breathing for the fifth time that hour—he was still breathing; slowly and steadily. Ein straightened, satisfied. He had always wondered how well a Blissy's healing expertise would work on a human subject. X-rays from a hastily constructed X-ray machine showed the boy's insides to be intact and working. 

Ein highly valued his intelligence. It made him valuable, in his own eyes as well as in the eyes of Masters Nascour and Evice. He couldn't help but be smug about it—he hadn't wanted anything to do with mending Wes's insides in the first place, but had agreed after remembering his hypothesis on the attack "Recover"; deciding to test it out on the boy. Even if it hadn't worked, the blame could have been passed to Dakim, who had caused the injuries in the first place.

The door opened and Gonzap came in, looking just about as smug as Ein felt. He grinned wolfishly at Wes's unconscious form before turning his attention to Ein.

"Shady's back from dumping the brats near Phenac," he announced, looking satisfied, "so can you wake him up now? I want that Snag Machine."

"If you want your newest member to be functional, I suggest you give him a few hours of rest," Ein drawled primly, giving Gonzap an annoyed glance. "Otherwise, he won't be of much use. A pity, too—after all that hard work."

Gonzap gave him a glare; a child that had just been denied a treat. "Is he fixed?"

Ein nodded, though he also rolled his eyes. "Yes."

The Team Snagem leader jabbed a finger at him. "Then wake him up. Wes can handle it: I've made him go through worse back when he was just a little kid."

Ein threw him a look of disgust. "Wake him up yourself, you idiot! I'm a scientist, not a nurse!" Grumbling, he turned back to his notes on his Blissy Recover hypothesis.

Gonzap made a rude gesture at Ein's white-lab-coat-clad back, and then stomped over to the table where Wes was. He grabbed the boy by the shoulders and began to shake him wildly.

Wes's eyes shot open, and his boots would have caught Gonzap straight-on in the chest if he hadn't been anticipating that reaction. Gonzap caught Wes's boots in one broad hand, wrapping his fingers around the boy's ankles. He then yanked hard, pulling the Snagger completely off the table.

Wes twisted in Gonzap's grasp, upside down, and still only half awake. Gonzap released his grip, and he smashed into the ground, hissenses reeling. His boss stood over him, laughing.

"Just like old times, eh?"Gonzap said, poking Wes lightly with the toe of his boot. "Your old bruises are faded by now, aren't they? Time to _renew _'em."

Wes shakily righted himself to a low crouch, still slightly out-of-it. He felt sore all over, and not just from the first few moments of his consciousness—his brief scuffle with Dakim still had him wincing. At least he could move now, though. All the feeling in his arms and legs had thankfully returned.

"As heart-warming as your reunion as boss and servant is," came Ein's icy voice, "I would prefer for you to finish catching up with one another somewhere else. Say, _away_ from my equipment!"

Wes was dragged roughly to his feet by the back of his red coat by Gonzap, wobbling slightly as his boss began to steer him towards the door. He allowed Gonzap to do so, withdrawing into himself for a quick assessment.

He could move again; that much was apparent. His PDA was gone, most likely destroyed. He had no way to contact Rui to let her know he hadn't been the one ready to blow her brains out; but at least she was safe for the time being. His Pokeballs were also missing, but it was highly likely that Gonzap had them. And the soreness he felt was slowly fading, so soon hewould be able to move even more freely.

When he became aware of his surroundings again, he and Gonzap were out in the hallway, having left Ein to his notes. Gonzap released him, giving him a rough shove forward. Wes caught his balance, and then turned expressionlessly to face his old—new—boss.

"Where's the Snag Machine?" Gonzap demanded. Wes watched him warily in case he decided to lunge forward. "Where'd you hide it, you little shit?"

Wes sighed inwardly. They were already back to the Snag Machine business. "I hid it where someone like you wouldn't find it."

Gonzap took a step forward warningly, his fist rising. "I'm sure I could get a couple Grunts to go pick up your lady friend, Wes—I'm sure _she_ would help us find it."

Wes paled slightly. Rui was safely out of the picture, and he wanted to keep it that way; even though it pained him to show Gonzap that the threat worked. "Alright, alright. It's hidden pretty well at the old Hideout." He paused, and couldn't help adding dryly, "I'm sure you know where that is."

For a moment, Gonzap's face was twisted hideously in an ugly scowl as he struggled to control himself. "You little—"

"You're not going to be able to find it without me," Wes interrupted before Gonzap could go off with a seemingly endless string of curses.

Gonzap shot him a glare. "Then you'll come with me to get it. I don't trust you at all by yourself yet."

Wes didn't answer. Too bad Gonzap wasn't stupid enough _to_ trust him. Would have made life a little easier.

"Come on," snapped Gonzap gruffly, turning on heel and heading down the hall. Wes followed him cautiously, careful to stay a few feet back. Just because the Team Snagem leader hadn't beaten him to a pulp this time around didn't mean he wasn't prone to any second.

They must have been desperate to get their hands on the Snag Machine, Wes reasoned as he followed his boss through the lab. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing—once they had it, would they still consider him useful enough to keep alive? It wouldn't be hard for them to make him disappear; the vast desert of Orre was an easy place to hide a body.

He would have to be careful. That much had always been obvious. He still needed his Pokemon back—especially Espeon and Umbreon—before he could feel a little more confident. For now, he would be forced to meekly do what he was told. He loathed to do so, but he didn't exactly have any other options: Gonzap and the Cipher Admins would be watching him constantly like a bunch of Swellows watching a Wurmple.

Wes was so lost in thought that he was caught unaware when Gonzap whirled around suddenly, lunging at him. He silently called himself all kinds of stupid as Gonzap smashed him against the wall, giving him a few good punches and a kick.

"Try anything, and you're dead," Gonzap hissed, his breath rank. "You think you're in deep shit right now? That'll be nothing compared to what _could _happen to you."

Wes resisted the temptation to make a sarcastic comment and merely nodded. He could already sense a bruise under his left eye and his ribs had jarred horribly when Gonzap had slammed him backwards.

Gonzap released him, straightening. He smirked widely. "Heh. Just like old times, right Wes?"

Laughing, he proceeded to drag Wes out to the front of the lab. For some reason, Wes couldn't find anything funny about the situation at all.

* * *

Well then. Now what?

Don't worry. I'll tell you. Next chapter.


	13. Destination: Snagem Hideout

I'm glad all you reviewers like this story so much.

* * *

The heat of the desert was at its usual—nearly unbearable. It took a moment for Wes's lungs to adjust to the hot, dry air as he was shoved out the lab doors and air conditioning into the heat. Once he could breathe properly, he ducked into the shade made by the wall of the building; it was always at least ten to twenty degrees cooler when out of the direct sunlight. 

Unfortunately, he didn't have the shade all to himself.

"So you're up." Shady lounged lazily against the wall, eyeing Wes with obvious dislike. Despite the heat, he still wore Wes's blue coat, which told Wes that he was at least a native to Orre—immune to the worst of the heat. "I dumped your friends on the outskirts of Phenac. Think they woke up before they fried?"

Wes decided not to answer. He didn't know enough about this strange look-alike in order to either be wary or cocky towards him. It was safer to be wary, though.

"You got Teleport?" demanded Gonzap, stomping over to them after speaking briefly to a Snagem Grunt stationed at the entrance of the lab.

"Just say the word," Shady drawled, taking a Pokeball from his belt.

"_He's_ coming?" Wes asked, deciding to play it stupid. Gonzap wouldn't buy it for a second—he knew Wes too well to know he wasn't anywhere near stupid—but it would be good to have Shady get cocky if he thought Wes wasn't bright. If he got Shady cocky enough...well, mistakes were made easier that way.

"Yes." Gonzap gave him a wolfish grin. "I know your style, you little shit. As soon as we get to the old Hideout, you'll tell me that you need your little rats in order to get the Snag Machine. And then you'll pull a fast one, just like you did last time. I'll be waiting outside the Hideout, and Shady will go in with you."

Wes kept his face expressionless. "I do need my Pokemon," he said levelly.

Gonzap merely smirked. "You would." He looked to Shady. "Get on with it."

Shady tossed out his Pokeball, and an Alakazam appeared before them, holding its spoons at the ready. "Teleport," Shady ordered. "To the Snagem Hideout."

There was a flash of bright light, and very suddenly the front of the lab was abandoned, save for the Team Snagem Grunt standing guard.

* * *

May and Brenden followed Rui to the Phenac Pokemon Center, where she immediately went over to the PC in the corner. May went with her, while Brenden approached the nurse at the front counter. He wasn't sure what kind of shape his team was in, but since it cost nothing and it was fast to heal them up, he figured why not. 

As soon as his six Pokeballs had been returned to him, he went over to the corner where May and Rui stood in front of the PC, to see what exactly they were doing.

"—remember his ID number," Rui was saying, looking thoughtful. "Then I could get in to his boxes."

"If you can't, I have plenty of Pokemon you could borrow," May offered.

"What's going on?" Brenden asked, joining them.

"I'm trying to get into Wes's Pokemon Storage," Rui explained. "All I need is his Trainer ID number, and then I could get in to borrow some of the Pokemon he has but never really uses anymore."

"That he Snagged?" Brenden asked skeptically.

"Kind of. They were Shadow Pokemon, and he Snagged them. I helped him Purify them."

"Oh. That's a little more reassuring."

Rui gave him a distracted half-smile, obviously still trying to remember the ID number.

"What was the first number?" asked May, trying to be helpful. "If you remember the first number, the rest might come to you."

"I think—" began Rui, but then her eyes lit. "Wait!" She dug in her pocket and pulled out her PDA. "I have a couple e-mails saved here from when I e-mailed him," she explained, sounding pleased, "so his ID should be saved in here. That's his e-mail address." She opened the device, tapping a few buttons.

May and Brenden watched her silently. In Hoenn, Trainers didn't use PDAs.

"Here it is!" Rui said triumphantly. Turning to the keyboard of the PC, she tapped in a few numbers quickly, reading off the small screen of her PDA. Then she snapped the device shut, slipping it back into her pocket, and hit the "Enter" key.

"We have access," May said with a grin as the screen flashed, admitting them to Wes's Pokemon boxes.

"Whoa," Brenden said, impressed as he studied the little digital figures of the stored Pokemon.

Rui wore a blank expression. "Which ones do I pick...?"

May laughed. "Don't worry, Rui," she said gently, moving the cursor over the first Pokemon, "Brenden and I will help you build a team that'll protect you no matter what."

"Start by looking at their stats," commanded Brenden, leaning in closer to the screen. "It looks like he's got some good ones here."

Rui watched as her two friends studied each of the Pokemon in the box, commenting briefly on each one. She didn't know very much about Pokemon, but after remembering her adventure as Wes's partner and listening to May and Brenden, she slowly began to grasp the basics of the mysterious creatures.

She didn't mind which Pokemon they chose for her. As long as they would help her rescue her friend, they were all fine to her.

* * *

The old Snagem Hideout was just as Wes had last seen it—a wreck of rubble and debris, falling in on itself as the harsh elements of the desert inflicted themselves upon it. He took care to keep a good amount of distance between himself and Gonzap—it was highly likely that his boss still had a sore spot about the destroyed Hideout, and since Wes was the one who had caused its current state... 

He wished Shady hadn't come.

"So you're the one who did that?" Shady asked dryly, with a small smirk. It was obvious that he while he was addressing Wes, he was also trying to get Gonzap's temper to snap.

Wes nodded, keeping one eye on Gonzap. The Snagem leader stood staring at the wreckage of the former Hideout, and judging by the expression on his face, his temper was starting to boil.

"I would think that you would've done something a little more drastic," Shady continued, still wearing his little smirk. "You're practically a _legend_ with all the Cipher Admins."

That's because I royally pissed them off when I Snagged their Shadow Pokemon, and defeated them each at least three times in battle by a landslide, Wes thought dryly. If I'm a legend with _them_, then it's because they curse my existanceevery other sentence.

Aloud, heasked bluntly, "You can think?"

Shady scowled. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Gonzap.

"Enough," he growled, rounding on them. "Get in there and bring me back my Snag Machine." He dug into one of the front pockets of his vest and tossed two Pokeballs to Wes, who caught them reflexively. "Try anything, and Shady shoots you."

Shady's smirk returned, and he pulled out the small handgun he had pointed at Rui only hours before, holding it in one hand lazily.

Wes hid his relief to have Espeon and Umbreon back. He fastened the two Pokeballs to his belt and started for the entrance of the Hideout, aware of Shady following him. The entrance was half-blocked by a pile of twisted steel, with sharp edges jutting out everywhere.

Together, Wes and Shady slipped inside the Snagem Hideout.

* * *

By the time Rui, Brenden, and May left the PokeCenter, Rui was ready. May and Brenden had picked out five Pokemon for her to use, judging by what they each though would be useful. The sixth Pokemon Rui had picked out herself—the little Plusle that she and Wes had once rescued from Miror B., before it could be turned into a Shadow Pokemon. 

Luckily for Rui, she had helped Purify all the Shadow Pokemon, so they knew her and would listen to her in battle. Unlike Hoenn, the Pokemon of Orre didn't require their Trainers to win badges in order to prove themselves.

"We need to get back to the lab," Rui said once they were back outside. "Once we're there, we can battle our way up to wherever they have Wes."

May nodded, taking out a Pokeball. "Now that I've been to the lab, my Ralts can Teleport us there."

"Let's go," Brenden agreed.

May called out her Ralts, which appeared before them, looking up at her questioningly. "Use Teleport, Ralts! To the Shadow Pokemon Lab!"

Rui was briefly blinded by a bright flash of light, and the ground seemed to swirl beneath her. When the ground settled again and her vision returned, they were standing out in front of the lab; just inside the electrical fence.

"Return, Ralts." May recalled the little green Pokemon back into her Pokeball.

"You should train that thing," Brenden advised. "Its evolve-forms are pretty good."

"I was going to," May answered with a smile, "But I got side-tracked with this little adventure."

"Hey!" A voice called out suddenly, making them all jump. A man dressed in the Team Snagem colors emerged from the shade near the entrance to the lab, holding a Pokeball in his fist.

"Team Snagem Grunt," Rui warned, recognizing the uniform.

The Grunt planted his feet wide, blocking their way into the lab. "You kids get out of here! With the Boss at the Hideout, it's up to me to provide security around here!"

Brenden and May exchanged flat looks.

"How are Teams so terrorizing with such dumb Grunts?" Brenden muttered.

"The old Snagem Hideout?" asked Rui, ignoring the Grunt. "If that's where Gonzap is, then that must be where Wes is! Come on!"

"You know where it is?" asked May.

Rui nodded. "Wes and I went there when the Shadow Pokemon were still out. It's far to the east from here. If we Fly, I could get us there."

"Are you sure Wes'll be with Gonzap?" Brenden asked.

Rui nodded again. "Now that Gonzap has him, he's not going to let Wes out of his sight." She smiled ruefully. "If he did, Wes would be gone in a second."

"Hey," warned the Grunt, who had been ignored for too long. "If you don't get out of here—"

"We're going, we're going," May snapped, drawing a Pokeball. "Go back to your little guard duty."

A few moments later, three bird Pokemon took to the sky, flapping up over the roof of the Shadow Pokemon Lab, headed east across the desert.

* * *

Please excuse any mistakes in this chapter...No spell check on this computer. 

Thank you very much!


	14. The Snag Machine Is Retrieved, Or Not?

And into the lair we step...

* * *

The light inside the old Snagem Hideout was dim, giving the entire place an eerie setting. Everything was coated in a layer of sand and dust from the explosion, and when Shady bumped into a pile of debris, the entire place filled up with a cloud of dust, making them both sneeze. 

"Watch where you're going," Wes snapped as the dust settled again.

Shady glared at him. "Just get the stupid machine so we can get out of this dump."

Wes raised his eyebrows slightly. "You sound as if you thought this place was high-class or something. As if I blew up something that actually had _worth_."

Without waiting for an answer, he stepped over a chunk of wall that had caved in, emerging into the old bar room. From underneath even more rubble, he could make out the worn booths the Grunts used to gather at, and the bar itself that Gonzap had always stood behind. Wes could remember many a time being dragged back behind the bar to the small office that branched off from there, where Gonzap would usually dish out his beatings.

Going through a hole in the wall—his explosion had worked even better than he had planned, it seemed—Wes emerged in an empy hallway with Shady right behind him. This hallway, at least, was empty of debris. Knowing exactly where he was going, Wes followed the hallway down a little ways, passing five or six doorways and a staircase leading up to the second level of the Hideout, before he stopped outside a particular door.

"Don't tell me this was your room," Shady drawled snidely, "Because that's the most un-original hiding place you could have come up with."

"Actually, it was," Wes answered grimly. "And think what you want. Gonzap could have looked in here himself and he would have never found the machine."

Shady shook his head. "Whatever." He hesitated for a moment. "Give me my coat back. Yours is all worn out, and it's pointless for me to keep wearing it now."

Wes was glad to get rid of the red coat in return for his blue one. He liked the worn-out state of his own coat; it made it much more comfortable. He shrugged it on quickly, feeling small pleasure in having it back again.

With an inward sigh, Wes pushed open the door to his old room in the Snagem Hideout; the one that always brought back the worst memories.

* * *

Rui strained her eyes, looking down at the vast desert below. They had passed Phenac already—the sparkle of the water that ran everywhere through the city was unmistakable and hard to miss—and they should have been nearing the Outskirt Stand soon. Once they were east of the Stand, Rui would have to start looking for the canyon that had hid the Snagem Hideout from the police for so many years. 

For some reason, Flying didn't seem to be as fast as riding Wes's old motorcycle. Rui almost laughed as she remembered the bike. It was quite exciting to ride in the side-car, racing across the desert at breakneck speeds, feeling as if she were about to crash down into the sand. The engine had always been a bit loud for her taste, but other than that...

She glanced back to make sure May and Brenden were still with her. Yes; there they were, gliding along behind her on their chosen bird Pokemon, leaning down low against the wind. Rui was grateful to have them as her friends—what would she have been able to do without them?

With a set expression of determination, Rui looked forward once more. She thought she could see a small speck down below—it had to have been the Outskirt Stand. Yes, there was the old train car that had been turned into a small diner and supply store.

It won't be long now, Wes.

* * *

"Your room is shit." 

"What, you were expecting a five-star hotel room?"

Wes looked back at Shady as he spoke, careful to keep his voice lightly dry and his face expressionless. The small room they had entered was painfully bare; with only a small wad of thin, faded blankets in one of the corners that had served Wes as a bed when he had been younger. He could remember curling up with his two Eevees, nursing hurts and bruises from Gonzap.

Other than the blankets, the room was empty.

Shady chose to ignore Wes's comeback. "So where's the Snag Machine hidden? Under the blankets?"

"Yes." Wes answered absently, drawing the Pokeball that contained Espeon and ignoring how Shady tensed and tightened his grip on his handgun.

He went over to the corner where the old blankets were, carefully moving them aside. He swallowed a small lump that had gathered in the back of his throat due to a new wave of memories, and released Espeon into the room.

Espeon rubbed against him, murmuring softly in obvious relief. Wes ran a hand down the lavender Pokemon's back gently a few times, glad to see his companion safe. Then he nudged Espeon wordlessly, showing the Pokemon the dirty floor in the corner.

"What are you doing?"demanded Shady. "Where's the Snag Machine?"

"Shut up," Wes answered absently, tracing a circle in the dirt and dust with a finger.

Espeon focused on the circle, glowing a soft blue color; preparing a strong Psychic attack. Wes inched back a little to get out of the way, and then the lavender Pokemon released the attack. Shady snarled something, but his voice was lost in the sound of the miniature explosion concentrated in the corner of the rooom. Dust and dirt was flung up everywhere, and for a few moments after the explosion, the only sound that could be heard was coughing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shady snarled as the cloud of dust and dirt began to thin. He found Wes where he was crouched and jammed his gun into the other boy's shoulder blade.

"I told you," Wes answered, his voice slightly raspy, "You never would have found this spot without me. And you wouldn't have gotten into it without Espeon." He coughed and cleared his throat.

Shady peered down into the corner. Where Wes had traced a circle, concrete no longer existed. Instead, there appeared to be ahole, which the bottom could not be seen.

"What is this?" Shady snapped, still holding the gun to Wes's shoulder. He was on the verge of just shooting him anyway, but decided that he'd just let Wes get killed by Gonzap—it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Something that I discovered a long time ago," Wes answered, ignoring Shady's gun and moving to crouch on the edge of the dark hole. "This Hideout is built right up against the back of this canyon. I found this hole one night." He paused, but then continued flatly, "Gonzap locked me in here for the night, and there was nothing else to do except train."

"In this tiny place?" Shady scoffed, glancing around the tiny room.

Wes merely shrugged. "Espeon and Umbreon are small, and I was smaller than I am now. There was plenty of room. Espeon learned Confusion that night, and the attack hit right here." Wes nodded down at the hole. "When I looked, there was an indent right here, and the ground was all soft. So I had Espeon attack the spot again."

"And this hole appeared?"

Wes nodded. "Seems there was a cave back here before the Hideout was built over it." He gave Shady a faint, brief smirk. "Where'd you think I hid my explosives before I was ready to use them?"

Shady decided to ignore the last comment. "And this is where the Snag Machine is?"

Wes nodded again. "Yes. Only I knew about this place, so it was the safest. Still unoriginal?"

Shady glared at him this time. He motioned with his gun. "You first. I'll follow."

"It's a dead end," Wes answered. "You don't have to come. There's no escape this way. If there had been, I would have left the Team a lot sooner than I did."

"I don't trust you. You first, so if you're lying I can shoot you."

Espeon gave a soft hiss, looking at Shady with deep purple eyes that still glowed slightly from the Psychic attack.

Wes merely jerked his shoulders in a shrug, and began to lower himself carefully down into the dark hole. Shady watched him silently. Wes released his grip on the edge, and dropped down out of sight into the hole. Espeon jumped down after him, also disappearing down into the gloom.

"Coming?" Wes's voice floated up, slightly mocking. "Or are you afraid of heights?"

"What if I were to just fire randomly down this hole," Shady snapped. "Would you be alive when I got down there?" He got down on his knees and slowly lowered himself down into the hole, just as he had seen Wes do. It was slightly more difficult due to the fact that he kept a firm grip on his gun.

"Probably," came Wes's voice from somewhere below him.

"Not," snarled Shady. He now hung from his fingertips, his boots still not touching the ground below him.

"Are you coming or not?" Wes snapped irritably. "It's not far. Just drop."

Shady replied with a suggestion that Wes figured wasn't humanly possible, before he released his grip on the edge. He toppled down to the bottom of the hole, landing hard on his back—the ground was a little farther away than Wes had told him.

"Get up." Wes was a few feet away, barely noticeable in the dim light leaking down through the hole above. "Or would you rather wait here?"

"No," hissed Shady, climbing to his feet with a few muttered curses.

Shaking his head, Wes turned and disappeared into the gloom, the dim form of Espeon at his feet. Shady had to hurry to catch up with him, going along a dark, narrow tunnel that led them deeper underground.

-----------------------------------------------

Rui's bird Pokemon touched down lightly behind an outcropping of rocks, followed closely by May and Brenden. They weren't aware of it, but it was the same rocks Wes had hidden his roaring bike behind so many years ago, the day he had blown up the Snagem Hideout.

Once the tired Pokemon were gratefully returned to their Pokeballs, Rui dared to peer around the rocks, careful to keep low.

"So this is the canyon," May said in a low voice, crouched down. "I can actually believe that the police could never find it now."

"I can see Gonzap," Rui answered, peering down the length of the canyon to the ruins of the Hideout at its end, "He's guarding the entrance."

Brenden rose on his heels in order to peer over Rui's head. "Where's Wes? Inside?"

Rui nodded. "I think so."

"What are they doing here?" wondered May, pushing herself to her feet.

"I don't know..." Rui admitted.

"It doesn't matter," Brenden said, finished looking at the Hideout. "Let's just get Wes and get out of here."

"How?"

May grinned suddenly, a slightly evil look in her eye. "I think I have an idea."

"Uh-oh," said Brenden and Rui simultaneously.

-----------------------------------------------

Wes reached the end of the narrow tunnel, emerging into a wide cavern. Light filtered down somehow from the tiny cracks in the ceiling high above them, allowing moss and fungi to grow in some places. Shady glanced around the cave, eyebrows raised.

Espeon brushed past Wes's legs, trotting over to the portable Snag Machine leaned against one wall.

"See?" Wes said, "I told you there's no way out."

"That's it?" Shady demanded, his eyes on Espeon and the Snag Machine.

"Yes," answered Wes patiently. "What else could it be; a soda machine?"

Shady stalked past Wes, jabbing him in the ribs to remind him that he still had his gun, striding over to the Snag Machine. Espeon gave another soft hiss upon Shady's approach, but moved out of the way as the red-coated boy picked up the Snag Machine, tucking it under one arm.

"Lead the way," he snapped, turning around to face Wes again. "I want to get out of this hole."

"So it's claustrophobia," Wes said with a straight face. Before Shady could give a scathing reply, he turned and headed back down the passageway.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Shady pushed past Wes, nearly flattening the other boy against the rock wall. He moved into the circle of light that came down from the hole's opening above them.

"I'll go first," he announced, "And you can hand me up the Snag Machine."

"Sure," Wes replied calmly, picking up Espeon, "But Espeon goes before you. I'm not stupid." He lifted Espeon up over his head, and the purple Pokemon leaped from his hands, hooking on to the edge of the hole with sharp claws, scrambling up out of the hole and disappearing from view.

Shady glared at him, but then put the Snag Machine down. Using the pile of rocks that had occurred due to the hole being "drilled" open, he was able to grab on to the edge and pull himself up, struggling a little before he disappeared into the light.

Wes picked up the Snag Machine, and stepped up the pile of rocks. He handed up the Snag Machine to Shady, before pulling himself up out of the hole; much more gracefully than Shady had.

Espeon sat like a sphinx in the doorway, while Shady waited impatiently, the Snag Machine tucked under his arm once more. Wes recalled Espeon back into his Pokeball with a silent thanks. There was no need to recover the hole to the cavern now that Shady knew about it.

Wordlessly, they made their way to through the ruined building, back to the entrance. Gonzap would still be waiting outside, and would be impatient to get back to the lab. Wes, slightly gloomily, refused to think about what they would do with him next. Now that they had their precious Snag Machine back, he was—as of right now—useless.

"There you are," Gonzap roared as Wes and Shady appeared in the entrance of the Hideout. "I was about to come in after you, to tell you to quit fucking around. What the hell were you doing?"

"Getting _this_," Shady snapped, handing his boss the Snag Machine.

Gonzap yanked the machine from his grip, ignoring Shady's tone for the moment. He inspected the machine for a few moments, greedy eyes running over its every surface. Wes said nothing; it was far better to attract the least amount of attention for himself as possible.

"Alright," Gonzap began, "Let's get back—"

Suddenly a sharp voice called "Thunderbolt!" and everything around them exploded. Wes was thrown forward mercilessly, landing face-forward in the gritty sand, which was flung up wildly. Something hit him hard in the back as he tried to scramble to his feet.

Everything went black.

-----------------------------------------------

Manectric stood before May, Rui, and Brenden, fur sparking wildly. Rui stared wide-eyed at the destruction before them; it was as if Wes had blown up the Hideout for a second time. Three still forms lay in the sand in front of the decimated building.

Rui skirted around the sparking Pokemon, and ran to the red-coated figure, remebering that Shady still had Wes's blue one. She knelt down beside him, carefully checking to make sure he was still breathing.

"He's okay," she called to May and Brenden, relieved, "Just unconscious."

"Good," May replied, coming to stand beside her. "Brenden, that attack was a little harsh."

"You wanted an explosion," Brenden said with a shrug. He gave his Manectric a pat of thanks—the sparks didn't harm him; he and the Pokemon had a deep trust in one another—and recalled the electric-type into a Pokeball. "What's this?"

Rui looked up. Near Gonzap's unconscious form, a certain red-and-blue machine lay in the sand. "That's the Snag Machine," she said, "So that's why they were here. Wes hid the Snag Machine here, and they made him get it. Grab it, and we'll take it with us. We don't want them Snagging anymore Pokemon."

Brenden nodded, and picked up the machine. "Nice and light."

May drew a Pokeball. "Back to Phenac?"

Rui nodded. "We need some rest. Especially Wes."

"Alright, Ralts!" May cried, releasing the green Pokemon. "Teleport to Phenac!"

There was a bright flash of light, and abruptly the only ones who were left in the canyon were the unconscious Gonzap, and the unconscious Wes.

-----------------------------------------------

It seems someone forgot to mention that Wes and Shady switched coats again to our heroes...

That can't be good, now, can it?


	15. Uneasiness Sets In

Huzzah, the dividers work once more! Though you all knew that, right?

* * *

"I _know_ he planned it," Gonzap growled, his face twisted in an angry snarl. His newly acquired bruises made his face even more grotesque than was normal. 

"Think reasonably, Gonzap," Nascour drawled, sounding slightly bored. "There is no way Wes could be in contact with any of his friends. You eliminated his PDA, and the only two Pokemon he has with him currently are his two Eevees, which have been with him constantly at all times."

"I still think he planned it." Gonzap sounded sullen now, as he rubbed a bruise on his chin carefully.

Nascour resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Gonzap was, once again, acting like an over-sized brat. Nascour detested the man, and wondered why his master even considered working with him. True, Team Snagem was an essential donator when it came to Pokemon, but why hadn't Evice gotten rid of Gonzap and replaced him with someone more...more..._intelligent_?

The silver-haired man turned his cold gaze to the subject of the conversation—Wes. The boy was slumped against the wall of Ein's workroom, out cold. Like his childish boss, he was covered with bruises and scratches from the unfortunate explosion that had occured out in the desert.

It had been determined that the cause of the explosion had been a Pokemon attack—Electric-type, to be precise—so it was obvious that it had been an attempt to "rescue" Wes, made by his friends.

Nascour tapped the counter, slightly impatient. The less he had to deal with Gonzap, the happier he was. "I assume that wherever those brats took Shady, they also took the Snag Machine?"

Gonzap nodded, throwing the unconscious Wes a scathing look. "Yeah."

"Then recover it and him quickly. Master Evice is growing impatient," Nascour warned loftily, fingering with one of the Pokeballs at his belt absently with his other hand. "As am I."

With that, Nascour took his leave, gliding out the door to the workroom and into the hallway.

Gonzap looked back at Wes, cracking his knuckles loudly. Just the sight of the little shit made his blood boil. What the hell had gone wrong with that kid? He had put everything into training him to be the perfect Team Snagem member, only to have the ungrateful brat turn on him at the last minute.

Fortunately he now had Shady. He was almost as good as the original. Almost.

* * *

As she passed the guest bedroom, Rui couldn't help but peek in at Wes again. He was still fast asleep, his breathing slow and measured. Her heart went out to him—he must have been exhausted. Well, now he could rest. He was safe here... 

"How's he doing?" May asked when Rui came back out into the living room. She had watched Rui check on Wes periodically over the past couple hours.

"Still asleep," Rui admitted, sinking down onto the couch beside her friend.

"Let him rest," May answered gently. She knew how worried Rui had been.

"He'll wake up sooner or later," Brenden assured her from his spot on the floor. His Manectric was lounging beside him, looking thoroughly pleased as Brenden groomed him.

"I know," Rui answered firmly. She knew her friends were amused by how often she checked on Wes.

"In the meantime..." May trailed, suddenly grinning. "Who wants to eat?"

Brenden groaned. Rui laughed. Manectric gave them all a disgruntled look, wishing that his Trainer would get back to grooming him already.

* * *

Shady's eyes slid open. 

He was laid out on a soft, comfortable bed, in an unfamiliar room. He could hear voices, but they definately did not belong to Gonzap, Nascour, or any of the Cipher Admins.

Deftly, he reached into an inner pocket of his red trench coat, stopping after his fingers collided with cold metal.

* * *

Espeon and Umbreon hissed, teeth bared, as they kept their tiny bodies between their master and Gonzap. Espeon sat, slightly more calm than Umbreon but still annoyed nonetheless, while Umbreon was standing, back arched like a black alley cat. 

Wes made sure to keep Espeon and Umbreon between himself and Gonzap as well. He wasn't too worried for the small Pokemon if Gonzap tried something—Espeon's Pyschic could stop him—so he pressed his back against the wall, glaring at his boss.

"Call them off _now_," Gonzap hissed, refusing to look down at the lavender and black Pokemon.

"No. Not until you listen. I told you: I had nothing to do with that explosion."

Gonzap took another step forward, ignoring how a light blue glow sprung up around Espeon as he did so. "So that's why Shady and the Snag Machine are missing?"

Wes kept one eye on Espeon and Umbreon, and the other on Gonzap. "I don't know. I don't care. Maybe Shady rigged the explosion, so he could rip off the Snag Machine." He paused, and then added, "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Gonzap aimed a kick at Umbreon with one heavy boot. "If your fucking _rats_ weren't in the way, I'd—"

Umbreon dodged nimbly out of the way, swiping at Gonzap's boot with a clawed paw.

"You're all so proud of him," Wes cut in, in no mood to start hearing about all the ways Gonzap would mutilate him had not Espeon and Umbreon been in between them, "What the hell is he supposed to be? Another me? Are you still not over the fact that I quit?"

He was burning with hatred as he glared at his boss.

Gonzap actually smirked. "That's exactly what he is. Another you."

That made Wes freeze. "What?"

"You heard me." Gonzap's smirk deepened. "Shady's another you."

Espeon hissed softly.

"Remember the first Shadow Pokemon you ever Snagged?" Gonzap asked, eyes glittering. "At Master Evice's house?"

"Makuhita."

"Right. I'm sure you remember that battle well, Wes. It attacked you, after all, didn't it? Miror B. says it punched you hard in the stomach, according to his peons."

Wes stared at his boss blankly. That Makuhita had punched him so hard that he had crashed into the wall right beneath a shelf. He remembered Rui screaming, and then climbing woozily to his feet, and spitting out a little blood. He had been sore for days after that little experience...

He went cold. The blood he had spat out...

"You bled a little bit, right?" Gonzap's deep voice couldn't mask his obvious pleasure and amusement. "You know what blood is."

Wes forced himself to answer in a level voice. "DNA."

Gonzap smirked again. "I always taught you to never leave any trace of yourself at a crime scene. That includes DNA. You know I always told you that the cops could use it against you—tracking you, and stuff. Another lesson you failed to pay attention to."

Wes didn't answer.

"It's amazing what Ein can do," Gonzap said, failing miserably to make his voice nonchalant. It was very obvious he was enjoying every moment of this. "Shadow Pokemon aren't the only things Ein can make in this lab." He laughed. "Should've blown up this joint too, huh?"

"Shady doesn't know what he is."

"No. He doesn't. Wouldn't sit well with you to find out the only reason you exist is because you were grown off someone else, would it?" Gonzap laughed again.

Wes remembered faintly about hearing stories of the Legendary Pokemon Mewtwo.

"You figured it out yet, Wes? We've got your number. There ain't no way you can escape this time." Gonzap grinned fiercely. "Your girlfriend is the number one suspect as to what caused that explosion. We're checking out her place today. You don't get to come."

Umbreon hurled himself at Gonzap with a sharp bark, reflecting Wes's inner mood. This time Gonzap's kick connected, sending the little Pokemon flying backwards. Wes caught Umbreon reflexively, holding his protector and companion gently. Espeon stood, looking as if he longed for nothing more than to attack Gonzap and inflict some kind of damage.

"Try anything and I'll kick your ass," Gonzap was saying, but Wes wasn't listening. He barely noticed when Gonzap left, trusting Espeon to make sure Gonzap didn't attack while he wasn't looking.

"Umbreon, you idiot..." Wes carefully set the midnight Pokemon down, giving him a slightly exasperated look. Inwardly, he was glad there were no broken bones; he'd seen Gonzap kick the crap out of a Grimer—if that were possible—once before, when he was in one of his drunken rages.

Umbreon wagged his tail, and rubbed up against Wes's gloved hand. Espeon sat down regally again, watching the other two calmly.

"Try not to piss him off too much. He was mad enough already, alright?"

Umbreon sat and looked up at his Trainer solemnly. That was why his master had called him out in the first place: to protect him. It had not been fun to wake up to an angry Gonzap.

Wes straightened. He knew better than to assume that he was really alone—no doubt Ein was watching him from somewhere, ready to come swooping down on him if Wes even looked like he was about to deface any of the equipment in the lab room.

Signaling to his two Pokemon, Wes headed for the door. He didn't exactly feel like hanging around too long, in a place where any of the Cipher Admins could pop in looking for entertainment.

Nor did he feel like staying in the room where he had been..._recreated_...

Sensing his thoughts, Espeon hissed softly.

Wes wasn't surprised that Ein had managed to construct Shady. The scientist—though stark raving mad in Wes's opinion—was brilliant. What weirded him out was that Shady wasn't just Shady...Shady was _him_. Wes didn't like it at all, especially since he had hated Shady on sight the first time they had ever seen one another. It made him feel...

...Uneasy.

The hall of the lab was thankfully empty. Gonzap and his Grunts must have already moved out for Phenac, headed for Rui's house. Wes tried to feel worried—and he was—but he was just so burnt out physically and emotionally that he really couldn't think of anything that he could do. Down near his feet, Umbreon gave a soft growl.

Wes glanced down at Espeon and Umbreon wearily. His two faithful friends looked back up at him; Espeon calmly and Umbreon concerned. They knew how tired their master was.

"I'm still wondering why they haven't killed us yet," Wes told them flatly, quietly enough so that his voice didn't echo off the walls. "Apparently they have a good enough replacement."

The two Pokemon merely looked up at him silently, waiting.

"Come on," Wes said, sighing inwardly, "We can check the entrances, but I doubt we'll be able to escape." Espeon and Umbreon at his heels, Wes made his way down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

The sense of uneasiness grew.

* * *

The ending of this chapter, along with Gonzap's depature, was supposed to be vague. Think what you will on that.

I've noticed that quite a few of you hate Shady, which is completely understandable. Here are his...origins...coming to light. I'm wondering...now that you know who—or what, rather—he is, exactly, do you still hate him? If so, does that mean you hate Wes?

Heh. Just kidding. But it is something to consider.

I don't think I've mentioned this before—mainly because I think it's rather obvious—but I am the unfortunate creator of Shady. Please do not use him in any stories—though I don't know why anyone would want to, for that matter—without permission. If you're crazy enough to want to, be my guest and ask away. We'll work something out. I'm easy to get along with.

As for updating, I'll try my best. School's in again, and we all know what that means.

Homework.


	16. Original

Well I guess you could say that I was walking with Kakashi, and we got lost on the path of life...

...Okay, enough of my lame excuses...

Disclaimer (since we haven't had one in ::cough:: awhile): If I owned any of this, you would all be burning down my office building by about now.

* * *

Shady crept down the hall slowly, taking his time. Whoever those voices belonged to, they wouldn't even know what hit them. He kept a tight grip on the gun, now hidden under his coat at his belt. 

He stopped when he reached the end of the hall, looking around the corner carefully, not quite yet wanting to be seen. He needed to know who he had been dragged off by.

He recognized them at once—he should have known, after all. They were Wes's friends: the two girls, Rui and May, and the boy, Brenden. They must have been the cause of the explosion back in the canyon of the Snagem Hideout, and had dragged him off instead of Wes. They didn't know that he and Wes had traded coats again, after all. He could see the Snag Machine laid out on the coffee table, still pefectly intact.

His grip on his gun relaxed somewhat, and a faint smirk crept across his face. This was going to be easy.

* * *

Wes didn't even bother approaching the two Peons that stood guard near the elevator that led the way up to the entrance of the lab. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be insulted and goaded, anyway. Instead he turned down another hallway, Espeon and Umbreon trotting to keep up. 

"Told you," he said to his two companions softly. "There's no way out of this one." He leaned against the wall wearily. This was all getting to be a bit too much...if he didn't know better, he would have wanted desperately to go home...

...But where _was_ home?

Espeon hissed softly, sitting down near his boots. Umbreon rubbed against him, trying to comfort him in the best way the little black Pokemon knew how. The two had been his companions long enough to pick up on his feelings and emotions, and how best to respond.

Wes ignored them, shutting his eyes to think. Gonzap was probably on his way over to Rui's house right now, with a team of Grunts. Shady would already be there, and who knew if Rui, May, and Brenden had figured it out yet that he wasn't Wes or not. Once Gonzap got there, Rui and the others would either be captured or killed...Wes didn't want anyone to die, but if they were captured, it meant Gonzap had more ways to blackmail him into doing anything...

And on top of that, he still needed to figure out why they all wanted him so badly. They had already gone to great lengths in order to get the Snag Machine back...

"Because as much as it pains us to say so," Ein had said coldly, "We need your skills."

"For what?" Wes had snapped back. He remembered being thoroughly pissed off at that point...

"We can't tell you that now," had been the lofty reply.

Obviously, they wanted him to make a Snag. But as to what he would be Snagging, and who he would be Snagging it from, was still a mystery. Nothing more had been said; not even one clue had been offered...

Wes decided that he hated mysteries and preferred a much more straightforward world.

* * *

Rui looked up as Wes entered the living room slowly, his sharp eyes looking over them all calculatingly. "Wes," she said, relieved to see him up, "I'm so glad you're okay. How do you feel?" 

"Just fine," he answered, coming to a stop. He had one hand hidden in his red coat.

"Good," said May, looking him over. "I bet you're tired, though."

"Been a little rough, huh?" agreed Brenden. He was absently petting a Manectric that laid by his side.

"Oh, it's been rough," Wes said, pulling his hand out of his coat and suddenly leveling a gun at them all. "But it's about to get rougher."

Rui rose to her feet, her face pale. "Wes...?"

"You might as well sit back down," Wes answered coolly, his grip on the gun steady. "I haven't decided yet if I'm actually going to shoot you all or not. You have been annoying—delaying our plans considerably. Maybe I should just get rid of you all while I have this nice opportunity."

"Shady," spat Brenden, glaring, also climbing to his feet. His Manectric growled.

"We grabbed the wrong one," May realized, dismayed, "You must have switched coats again...Would you stop doing that...?"

"Nothing wrong with wanting my own clothes back," Shady replied dryly.

"At least they're back in their original coats," Brenden couldn't help but agree. "Now just stay that way." He put one hand on the Snag Machine in front of him. "I'm right in guessing that you want this, too, don't you?"

"Correct." Shady cocked the gun, pointing it directly at May. "Push it on over, or I'll shoot. Gonzap doesn't need all of you in order to blackmail Wes."

"Do what he says, Brenden," Rui said softly, feeling depressed. She had thought things had finally been going okay...

Brenden glared at Shady, but removed his hand from the Snag Machine. "Get it yourself. Just don't shoot."

There was a loud crash as the front door was suddenly kicked in, causing the three to jump. Shady glanced over his shoulder to see Gonzap enter the house, followed by several Grunts. About time.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do the hard work," Gonzap announced as he came over to stand beside Shady. "Good work." The Snagem Grunts fanned out behind them silently.

"Took you long enough," Shady retorted calmly, lowering his gun slightly.

Gonzap merely laugh. "Don't you be tellin' me what to do, boy." He went over to the coffee table, and picked up the Snag Machine. "At last."

Rui blinked back unvoluntary tears as the Snagem Boss examined the Snag Machine. What Wes had once proudly worn on his arm now looked rather small in the large Boss's hands.

"Now Nascour will be pleased," Gonzap commented, looking gleeful. "And I'll probably have a little more time to kick the shit out of Wes before they use him. Things are looking up."

"Use him for what?" demanded May. "Give us a straight answer for once!"

"Wes is part of my Team again, little missy," Gonzap spat, grinning nastily, "I blackmailed him into rejoining. That means he's once again a fully-fledged Snagger."

"You're going to make him Snag something?" Rui spoke up, confused. "But what?"

"Shall I shoot them, or do you want to use them for something?" Shady asked his boss, already bored. Now that Gonzap had the Snag Machine, and Wes had been blackmailed onto the Team, his job was pretty much finished.

For once, Gonzap seemed to sit back and mull things over. Then he grinned again. "I'll tell you what..."

Rui, May, and Brenden waited, their tension obvious. Whatever Gonzap had decided, they were each sure that none of them were going to like it at all.

* * *

"You." 

Wes opened his eyes and glanced up to see Ein walking toward him. He warily watched as the scientist approached, Espeon and Umbreon standing protectively in front of him.

Ein ignored the two Pokemon. "Gonzap went off to collect the Snag Machine and Shady, correct?" he asked, slightly impatient.

"Yes," Wes answered emotionlessly. Now leave me alone...

Unaware of Wes's thoughts, Ein continued. "Good. I have Nascour breathing down my neck to move things along. He's become quite fed up with Gonzap."

"Then why doesn't he just get rid of him?" Wes couldn't help but ask blankly. I'd even help him, he thought flatly.

"Because Gonzap is needed in order to keep a leash on _you_," Ein replied crisply, slightly smug. "Rather unfortunate, isn't it?"

Wes didn't answer. Ein did have a point, there...

"But in any case, I'm not too concerned about it," Ein added, slightly thoughtful. "I could care less what happens to anybody else; as long as I can continue my work here."

Wes still said nothing. Ein truly was a die-hard scientist. A bit full of himself, too, maybe.

Espeon hissed, while Umbreon added one of his growls, both of them looking up at Ein.

Ein glanced down at them. "Your Pokemon are in excellent form," he said carelessly, "They would make excellent Shadow Pokemon. They'd be even stronger than they are now."

"Stay away from them," Wes snapped, narrowing his eyes. "And that's not true anyway. Shadow Pokemon aren't all that strong if I defeated every one of them with two _normal_ Pokemon."

A silence followed, during which Ein merely shrugged, still nonchalant.

"Why did you make Shady?" Wes asked finally. The question had been silently bugging him ever since Gonzap had revealed Shady's true...origins. "Why use my DNA and not anyone else's, like your own?"

Ein actually gave a razor-thin smile. "To prove that I could." He turned and walked away, heading back in the direction of his private workroom.

For some reason, Wes felt slightly better about the fact that he had a clone. Especially since he was the original.

* * *

Well I suppose this proves that I'm still alive. 

Yes...I am sorry for leaving you all hanging like that for so long. I really am. This is why I posted this chaper NOW (12:15 AM my time). Heh.

So. Here's a late Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, and all-the-holidays-in-between present for you all. This time I'll also try to update sooner, as an added bonus. ::sweat-drop::

Don't flame me too hard, but I suppose you do have a right to. Heh heh.


	17. Good Behavior Guaranteed

Surprise! I was much faster at updating this time. I can hear a collective sigh of relief...

* * *

May coughed weakly, her head pounding as she slowly lifted herself from the carpet, putting one hand on the couch to steady herself. The entire house was trashed—she felt bad; it was Rui's house—and Brenden was lying face-down on the floor a few feet away, still out cold. Poor Rui was nowhere in sight. 

No, they had not liked Gonzap's decision at all.

"I'll tell you what," Gonzap had said, his little greedy eyes glittering as he grinned unpleasantly, "These brats _can_ be useful. But we really only need her." He had then pointed at Rui. "You're Wes's little girlfriend. The one who helped him a couple years ago to Snag all the Shadow Pokemon."

Rui's eyes had gone wide. May remembered climbing to her feet and taking the frightened girl's hand in reassurance.

"We're not letting you kidnap her, too," she had said, glaring at the Snagem Boss.

"We're not going down without a fight," Brenden had added, ready to battle. "Let's go, Manectric."

The Electric-Type had growled, ready to carry out whatever orders his master gave him.

"We can use her to blackmail Wes a little more," Gonzap then continued, seemingly ignoring May and Brenden. He actually looked as if he were capable of thought. "Just so his good behavior will keep up." He smirked, apparently pleased with himself.

"What about those two?" Shady had asked lazily, motioning to May and Brenden with his gun. "You don't need them."

Gonzap had smirked again. "I'm going to pull what they pulled on us back in the canyon, that's what." He motioned one of his Grunts forward. "Get ready."

The Grunt drew one of his Pokeballs. "Yessir."

"Get her." Gonzap pointed at Rui as the rest of his Grunts charged forward, eager to obey.

"Go! Manectric!" Brenden ordered, "Hold them off!"

"Go! Electrode!" The Grunt that Gonzap had ordered to be ready tossed forward his Pokeball. The Electrode emerged, looking like a larger version of the ball it had emerged from; except with large eyes and an equally large grin as its differentiating features.

"Electric against Electric?" Brenden wondered as the other Grunts came to a stop, not wanting to get in the middle of a battle. "Is that the best you can come up with, Gonzap? Manectric, use Bite!"

The lightening-fast Pokemon bounded forward, towards his round opponent, baring his sharp teeth in preparation.

"Electrode, Explosion!" the Grunt commanding the other Pokemon cried, throwing himself behind a chair. His companions—including Gonzap and Shady—also threw themselves down, having been ready for the attack.

May had screamed along with Rui as the glowing Electrode combusted with a deafening roar. The last thing May remembered was hitting the floor hard, and sinking out of consciousness...

Now she pushed herself to her feet. Gonzap and his Grunts must have taken Rui once she and Brenden had been rendered unconscious. Poor Manectric was probably back inside his Pokeball, his Hit Points most likely reduced to zero. They would definately have to stop by a Poke Center before following Gonzap.

"Brenden, come on," she said, going over to her friend. She was a little more awake now, and the pounding in her head had lessened somewhat. "We gotta go save Rui and Wes." She shook him gently.

Brenden groaned, rolling over onto his back blearily. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he mumbled, putting a hand up to his head. "I feel horrible...No more explosions for me."

"Agreed. Now come on—we have to hurry. It's up to us now."

He sat up, looking a bit more awake now. "You're right." He glanced down at the Pokeballs on his belt and grimaced. "We need to stop by a Center first."

"Yeah." May stood, and pulled Brenden to his feet. "Let's go." She looked around the destroyed room. "Once Rui and Wes are safe, we can help fix this up."

The two Hoenn Trainers slipped out of the house, heading for the Phenac Poke Center.

* * *

Wes had still been leaned against his spot on the wall in the hallway, eyes shut and lost in weary thought, when Dakim appeared. Wes had been so unprepared for the giant man that he hadn't even noticed until Umbreon had hissed. 

He opened his eyes and jumped when he saw the volcano-haired man towering over him. He would have backed up, but there really was nowhere to go.

Shit.

"Who the hell let you wander around out here?" Dakim growled. He might as well have started to crack his knuckles.

"Gonzap," Wes answered blankly, trying not to shrink away anyway. "And Ein saw me not too long ago. They don't care. You've got Peons posted everywhere, guarding the elevators. It's not like I can escape."

Dakim grinned widely. "Well it bothers me to see that you're free to walk around the lab." He took another step forward. "Makes me feel _uneasy_. Like you might try something anyway."

Wes resisted the urge to glare at him. Dakim was only about nine-thousand times bigger than he was; how could he pose as such a threat to the giant martial artist? Dakim was lying. And possibly looking for an excuse to take some of his anger out on him.

"Especially with those Pokemon of yours out."

Wes recalled Espeon and Umbreon into their Pokeballs, taking the hint. "They're in, alright? And I'm not going to try anything." He turned and started to head in the opposite direction down the hall, hoping to make a clean getaway.

A large dinner-plate-sized hand closed around his shoulder. "I'm not finished with you yet."

Shit.

"I still never got the chance to make you pay for how you humiliated me three times in a row," Dakim continued, yanking Wes around, still keeping a tight hold on his shoulder. "Once on Mount Battle, once at Realgam Tower, and once down in the Deep."

Well at least he can count, Wes couldn't help but think as his bleakly sarcastic side flared up. This was really going to hurt.

He didn't have time to think any longer as he was slammed against the wall, crushed. "I hope Gonzap feels like beating the shit out of you once I'm through with you, too." Dakim growled, his breath hot on Wes's face. "I can't even believe that Master Nascour has let you live this long. You wrecked everything."

Wes held still, trying not to completely panic. Maybe if he didn't give Dakim an entertaining show of trying to struggle away, he would get bored early.

Dakim released him for a split second, before grabbing the front of his coat and turning, throwing him down the hallway with all his might. Wes hit the polished floor hard, skidding across the smooth surface and rolling once or twice before coming to a jarring halt. Gritting his teeth, he picked himself up slowly as Dakim approached.

"It's not like they can't use Shady," Dakim growled. With a grunt, he took a swing at Wes almost as soon as the Snagger had climbed to his feet. "Or anyone else, for that matter. You're not the only Snagger Gonzap ever had on his team."

He crumpled as Dakim's fist collided with his thin frame, sliding across the floor again with a sharp cry of pain. His stomach heaved, and he nearly vomited as bile rose in the back of his throat. With a moan, he started to pick himself up again, feeling faint.

He only made it as far as his knees when Dakim lifted him up by the back of his coat with one arm, easily keeping him dangling limply. "Ha!" Dakim grunted, letting Wes drop again, drawing back one bare foot and kicking him.

This time he didn't even try to pick himself up. He could taste the sour tang of blood in his mouth as the contents of his stomach rose in his throat and he heaved, coughing as he threw up.

Dakim lumbered over, taking his time, before wrapping one hand around Wes's neck and lifting upward. As a feeble reaction, Wes's hands tried weakly to pull Dakim's hand away from his neck, but Dakim's grip was too tight. His vision clouded as Dakim slowly squeezed harder and harder, cutting off his air at a maddening rate. Didn't they need him? Or was Dakim just going to kill him now?

"Dakim."

Relaxing his grip on Wes's neck only slightly, Dakim turned. Gonzap was back, along with Shady and a handful of Grunts. Gonzap merely looked over the scene with a smirk, while Shady looked coldly indifferent. But the Grunts...they were busy trying to hold back...

"Wes!" Rui cried, looking rather worse for wear. Her eyes watered slightly as she fought to break free from the grasp of two Grunts, her eyes locked on her gallant prince. "Leave him alone! Put him down!"

Wes shut his eyes. Could this get any worse...?

"Shut up," Shady ordered calmly, leveling his gun in her face lazily.

Rui fell still and silent at the sight of the gun, but her eyes still watered and she bit her lower lip fearfully, watching Wes.

"Having a good time, Dakim?" Gonzap asked, giving Wes a mocking look. "But Nascour really needs his...services. Once he's made the Snag, then you and I can have a good _session_ with him."

Dakim dropped Wes, looking slightly sulky; but he turned around and without another word, disappeared down the hallway. Wes hit the ground and slumped forward, barely missing his own vomit, too tired to move. He was alive...and had escaped without any broken bones...

A sharp kick in his side alerted him to Gonzap's presence. His boss leaned down and lifted him slightly by the back of his coat, thrusting his face close. "Listen, you little shit. We have your girlfriend to ensure that your good behavior continues. Got it?"

Wes mumbled something that he hoped sounded like agreement.

Gonzap cursed and took a step back, noticing what he was currently standing in. "What the hell? You're a damn mess, you fucking waste." He kicked Wes again before stomping backwards, rubbing his boot on the floor. "One of you clean this shit up!"

"I'll take them to the cells," Shady drawled, motioning Rui forward with his gun.

Gonzap nodded. "Hold them there till we're ready to move out." he grunted, turning and stomping away down the hall.

Keeping the gun at Rui's shoulder, Shady led the girl forward, stopping when he got to Wes. "Against the wall." he ordered calmly. Rui did as she was told, still biting her lower lip as she pressed her back against the wall, blue eyes wide as she looked at Wes. Shady crouched down next to Wes, still aiming the gun in Rui's general direction. "Damn, Wes...looks like Dakim failed." His voice was barely above a whisper, so the red-head couldn't hear.

Wes eyed his clone warily as he forced himself to sit up. "What's that supposed to mean?" he muttered, not in the mood to deal with Shady's nasty attitude. In truth, he felt like throwing up again.

Shady smirked, eyes glittering malevolently. "Nothing, nothing...Now get up, or I'll shoot your girlfriend." He straightened.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's just my friend," Wes couldn't help but mumble, pushing himself up to his feet shakily. He swayed slightly before he caught and steadied himself.

Rui watched him, concern visible all over her face. Wes inwardly grimaced to himself. He had hoped that Gonzap wouldn't involve anyone else, but now that Rui was here...

He didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him. Now he would have to do anything any of the Cipher Admins or Gonzap said, because now they could constantly threaten him with Rui's death. She was his friend, and partner in defeating Cipher's Shadow Pokemon. Rui was an innocent girl—Wes wouldn't be able to live with himself if he got her killed. But leave it to Gonzap to drag the innocent into nasty business...

"Move," Shady said icily, loud enough so Rui could hear as well. He ushered the both of them down the hall at gunpoint, leaving the Grunts behind to clean up the mess.

At the other end of the hallway, unnoticed, Ein watched them all with his eyebrows slightly raised.

* * *

R&R, please. 


	18. The Calm Before The Storm

La la la la la...Hmm. I'm answering my reviews this way because...I feel like it. 8D Huzzah!

**angel-in-training312** - Thanks for the review! This is the first time I think I've seen you, so I'm glad you like it. Welcome aboard this crazy fic! 8D

**Twanny Boy** - Hey there! And thanks for spelling my name right this time! Ha. Thanks for the comment on my battle scene, even though it was short and not a fair fight for poor Manectric. But I think I'll have some even better battles coming up sooner or later. Heh.

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Thank you, thank you...and come back, QE...!

**Kai's Snowfall** - Hey hey, thanks for the warm welcome back! Tis good to be back. Heh. Thanks for the compliment on my story progression and characters; I'm trying not to have them run around like crazy people _too_ much. Haha. I'm _so_ very glad you notice things like what you pointed out in your review—they make me not want to disappear on everyone again. 8D

**SkyMaster** - Drastic measures? Sounds scary. Does that include you posting a story? Because that would be pretty drastic, for you. Heh heh.

_And now...On to our featured attraction._

Yay.

* * *

The first thing Rui did was to wrap her arms around Wes in what seemed like—to him, anyway—a bone-crushing hug. Well-used to her habit of hugging, he held still for a moment, gently patting her on the back as he bleakly took in the cell Shady had locked them in; the thick glass walls allowing him to gauge that, at least for now, they were alone in the room. 

"Rui..." Wes tried to pry free from the girl's grasp, but she was clinging to him tightly. "Look...I'm okay, see? Now can I sit down? Please?"

Rui released him, looking slightly misty-eyed as she stepped back. "Sorry," she mumbled, eyes lowered, suddenly remembering how he had never liked to be touched very much. Then she looked back up at him, worried. "That scared me."

"It scares me that you're here," Wes answered her flatly as he gingerly sank down to sit, leaning back against the very rear, concrete wall of the cell. He was starting to feel extremely sore from the beating he had just survived. "What were Brenden and May doing, taking a nap?" he attempted to joke, but it came out feebly instead. "They were supposed to protect you."

Rui managed a smile, and sat down beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Gonzap had one of his Grunts send out an Electrode, and it used Explosion...It knocked May and Brenden out, and that's when Gonzap's Grunts grabbed me. I hope May and Brenden are okay..."

Wes couldn't say that he envied the two Hoenn Trainers.

"And Shady kept threatening me all the way here," Rui continued, with a small shudder. "Who is he, Wes? Why does he look so much like you? Are you twins?"

"He's not my brother." Wes snapped automatically. He softened, though only because it was Rui he was talking to. "Don't worry about him."

Rui seemed to sense that the half-reply was all she was going to get out of him for now. "Okay. I won't," she promised faithfully. She trusted Wes. "You should get some sleep, Wes. You look like you need it. I'll keep watch, okay? I'll protect you."

Wes didn't bother to hide his yawn, but he hid his slight amusement. "Thanks, Rui..." he mumbled absently. Rui definitely wasn't weak, but she was no match for anyone in the building—well, maybe Venus, but that was beside the point. He would have to put all his energy into keeping her safe; it was his fault that she was mixed up in this entire thing.

But he might as well sleep, for now. Wes was fairly exhausted, anyway. He leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes, willing his body to relax somewhat; enough so that he could get some rest. He was half-aware of Rui telling him something, but he didn't hear exactly what she was saying.

The Snagger dropped off to sleep, managing to momentarily push away his troubled thoughts.

* * *

"That was sloppy." 

Shady glanced sideways at Ein. The scientist was still bent over his notes on the counter of the lab, studying them minutely, but it was obvious that he wasn't talking to himself. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ein straightened, fixing his glasses, which had slid down the bridge of his nose slightly while he had been looking down. "Yes you do," he replied matter-of-factly, turning around to rummage in a drawer. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Shady kept his lazy position of slumped forward on his elbows nonchalantly at the other end of the counter. "So you noticed."

Ein glanced at him flatly. "I'm not an idiot."

"I never said that you were. You're the one who created the Snag Machine and the process of turning Pokemon into Shadow. Most everyone here calls you a genius."

Ein rolled his eyes. "I don't mean that kind of stupid."

Shady smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Finding what he was looking for, Ein shook his head as he turned back to his notes, exasperated. "I think you do. And I'll warn you now, that if you're caught, you'll be exterminated as well. That was a sloppy bit of work back there. You're lucky your boss isn't the brightest."

"Then I just won't get caught. Try again in a different way. I'm using Gonzap's stupidity to my advantage, anyway." Shady pulled out his gun and fiddled with it absently, examining the trigger with care. "And no one's going to rat me out."

"_I'm_ certainly not going to say anything. What you're after does not interest me in the least—there are no gains for me, or losses."

Shady eyed him for a moment. "Are you sure you know what I'm after?"

"Of course I'm sure," Ein snapped irritably. "It's quite obvious to me." _I created you_ was what he wanted to add, but he held himself in check. Shady didn't need to know that yet—especially since things were getting so interesting. "I'm not Gonzap," was all he said instead.

"Fine." Shady straightened and stretched, slipping his gun back into its holster on his belt beneath his coat. "I'm outta here. I'll be back later."

"You had better be," Ein answered without looking up, writing swiftly. "And next time don't be so sloppy."

Shady smirked again as he left the main lab room. "I don't know what you're talking about." The door slid shut behind him.

"Of course you don't," Ein muttered dryly. "How silly of me."

* * *

Brenden and May met outside the crowded Poke Center, their Pokemon refreshed and restored. They both still had a Flying-Pokemon in their parties, so there had been no need to swap out one friend for another at the PC, which made the trip a lot quicker—the place was practically packed from wall-to-wall. 

"Orre's tourism must have just exploded or something," May couldn't help but comment as they made their way down the street towards the edge of Phenac. "People from all over are here."

"Why else do you think _we're_ here?" Brenden asked wryly. "We heard about the reputation of the Colosseums around here and we decided to check them out. So have a lot of other Trainers."

"It's disappointing that there aren't Contest Halls here," May admitted, "but you're right—the Colosseums did sound enticing. But we haven't really tried one out at all..."

"We've been a bit busy since we arrived here," Brenden replied.

They both fell silent after that. They had met Wes and Rui by chance that day, and had decided to spend the day with them. Unbeknownst to them, that had decided what the remainder of their stay in Orre would be like; now that Brenden looked back on all that had happened since that fateful day. It seemed like it was weeks ago, but it had only been days.

"I don't regret that we followed Wes into that alley on the first day we got here," May said forcefully, thinking along the same thoughts, as they reached the edge of town. The desert stretched out before them in all directions, heat waves rising and shimmering off in the distance.

Brenden grinned ruefully. "Neither do I, May," he assured her.

"Then let's go!" May cried, making the victory sign with two fingers. "Let's kick some bad guy butt!" She drew a Pokeball.

"We're going, we're going," Brenden assured his friend. He had no doubt that they had to rescue Rui and Wes, but he still felt apprehensive. The "bad guys" here in Orre were much different than the ones from Hoenn. They didn't play by the same rules. And he couldn't help but feel that they were on the edge of something that was about to happen, but he didn't know what, exactly, or why he felt this way. "Let's do this."

Two Pokemon rose into the sky high above Phenac with the Fly ability, setting out across the desert.

* * *

Dakim looked moodily at the ground, still sulking. "I only needed a minute more." 

"That's not a good enough excuse."

"It's not my fault Gonzap showed up," Dakim growled. "You said that he'd be gone a bit longer."

"I didn't know that he'd gotten it into his head to use Explosion and get the girl so quickly. That shortened the length of time."

"See? It ain't my fault."

"He's not even one-fourth your _size_. Why would you even _need_ a minute? It should take you ten seconds at the most."

Dakim didn't have a reply to that. Despite his prowess in size, he lacked the same kind of strength in mind—his sluggish brain couldn't put together a retort to defend himself verbally with. He fought with his fists, not with his words.

"There you have it. Next opportunity you get, do it."

"Alright," he mumbled. "I'll do it."

It was a good thing that at least he knew agreeing was best.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?" spat Gonzap as Shady entered the room that had been transformed into the Snagem Leader's office in the Shadow Pokemon Lab. He glared at his Wes-look-alike-and-temporary-replacement. 

"I get time off," Shady pointed out calmly, leaning against the wall. He refused to come farther into the room and sit in one of the chairs before the wide desk, like some child in a principal's office. "So I used it. Got lunch."

Gonzap was reclined back in his chair, boots up on the desk. The Snag Machine sat on the other end of the desk, waiting to be used. Or stolen again. "Then no more of this damn 'time off' crap. Eat on the go. We've got business."

"Yessir," Shady answered, still calm. Inwardly, he was debating whether or not to just shoot the man before him and worry about it later. He decided against it. He had used his "break" to take care of some private business; it would be easier for him in the long run if Gonzap was alive and thought that all he wanted was a break to eat.

"Evice wants to move soon," Gonzap snapped, leaning back farther in his chair and putting his large arms behind his head. "Nascour has left orders that he's got the information about the Snag Evice wants done. Someone needs to meet with him to collect it. You."

Shady maintained his expressionless face. "Where?"

"The Deep. The Colosseum down there has tons of vacant rooms that're pretty good to meet in for stuff like this." Gonzap smirked. "Been using those rooms for awhile now."

Shady could really care less. "When do I go?"

"Tomorrow."

He turned to leave, hiding his satisfaction. "Right."

"Oh, and tell Dakim to get in here," Gonzap ordered at Shady's back. "I don't want him to kill Wes before I do. He and I will have to work something out, so everything's fair." He laughed.

"Sure," answered Shady, eyes glittering at he shut the door behind him.

This was all really working out just perfect.

* * *

Rui watched Wes sleep, glad that he was finally resting. She was terrified, but not so much for herself as she was for Wes. She had almost screamed when they had come around the corner to find Dakim throttling the life out of him... 

He was her best friend, her gallant prince, her hero. Rui couldn't bear to see him so hurt and exhausted—she had just finally gotten him to actually relax while around others, and he had just finally come back to her, to visit, but then Gonzap and the Cipher Admins had returned, ruining everything...

Decisively, Rui took one of the sleeping Snagger's gloved hands, looking forward through the glass at the door to the room. If anyone came in, she didn't want them to go unnoticed. She would help Wes in any way that she possibly could, no matter what he said. "I'll help you, Wes," she had told him as he had dropped off to sleep. She would live up to her words.

But she still got this feeling that they were only still in the calm before the storm...

And whatever that storm was, it was going to be a rough one.

* * *

Well I think I've just about spoon-fed you guys all the ominous feelings that you could ask for. Hehe. 

Oh. And as for the whole Wes/Rui thing...

There will probably be hints of Colosseumshipping here and there, but most of it will probably be a bit one-sided on Rui's part. Wes just doesn't strike me as the type of guy who will settle down with a girlfriend just yet—give him a few years, and then maybe he'll come back to her for good. 8D Sorry if this disappoints anyone, but it just doesn't fit this particular situation at the moment. Maybe at the very end of all this madness, just to reward those of you who stuck with me here, will this fic own up to the second genre I put it under: "Romance." 8D Let me know what you think about that.

I shall return! Sooner or later. Hehe.


	19. Compromise

Why do I answer my reviews like this? Read my bio, people. I'm lazy. XD And anyways, I'm lucky I even have _time_ to answer my reviews. Heh. Nah, I make time. Goes to show how grateful I am that you enjoy the story.

**angel-in-training312** - I'm honored to be the authoress of the story you posted your first review on! Somehow I feel unworthy...

**Pichu Star** - Your long review made me so happy. Nice to see you back again! I was slightly worried that the professors at your college ate you or something. Hehe. Thank you SO much for all the praise for this story...It means a lot coming from such a great writer such as yourself to little me over here, and I'm very glad that you like this story so much. Again, somehow I feel unworthy... (watches you pound head on desk) Don't hurt yourself, please... (pats shoulder) We know you'll update as soon as you can. 8D

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Glad you're back, QE! And that's a very good question, E.S.P...Wes is wondering the exact same thing…

**Twanny Boy** - Puns? Hm. No puns were intended. (shrugs) Thanks for coming back to review again!

**Celestial-Dragonz** - Hello, thanks for reading and dropping me a review on the way out. You do bring up some very good points on how to write Colosseumshipping, so I'll let you know that I already have a few thoughts on how this "romance" business is going to go down. Of course everyone has some emotions; even our favorite Snagger. 8D Thank you much.

**SkyMaster** - Thanks for the cake? And the—amazingly—high rating? (falls out of chair)

**Kai's Snowfall** - No hiatus—see, here I am! Yay for foreshadowing and all things ominous! Hah. And yes, even though Rui seems like a bright and cheerful person, she's not so shallow as to be "OMG!Instalove," as you so fittingly put it, when it comes to Wes. That would just be corny, don't you think? 8D

Throwing in a disclaimer: If I owned this, "Wes" and "Rui" would have made an appearance in "Pokemon Colosseum XD"!

What? _I_ was disappointed.

Fic-time. 8D

* * *

He woke to find Rui sound asleep beside him, holding his hand. He gently slid his hand out of her grasp before pushing himself to his feet, resisting the urge to groan as his sore, stiff muscles protested. Wes stretched as best as he could, trying to limber up his hurting body. 

Automatically, one hand slid down to his belt to check that his Pokeballs were still in the appropriate place. Espeon and Umbreon were still there, and he let out a soft sigh of relief—no one had come in and taken his only protectors while he and Rui had slept. He had a feeling that he would be depending on them a lot, especially with both Gonzap _and_ Dakim after his blood. And Shady...he didn't know what to think about his clone. Something about him made his nerves go on high-alert every time they were in the same room. And now, especially with that last comment he had made...

Wes leaned against the back wall of the cell, thinking. Ein had answered him straightforwardly enough when he had asked the scientist why Shady had been created.

"To prove that I could," had been the smug reply, accompanied by a razor-thin smile. Now that Wes looked back on it, Ein's answer had not completely satisfied his question of why _his_ DNA had been used, out of all the possible donors the scientist could have used just in Cipher. Ein could have even cloned a _Pokemon_ just to "prove" that he could do it. It all didn't add up.

Neither did what little information he had been given as to why they were all after him. Gonzap, as ever, was easy to read—all he wanted was simple revenge against him for blowing up the Snagem Hideout and basically flushing the Shadow Pokemon plan down the toilet. So did, obviously, Dakim. But what did Cipher—Evice—want with him? He couldn't accept the fact that all the porky little man wanted from him was a Snag; not after what he had done to his "world domination" scheme. Evice and Nascour had to have wanted revenge too, right? Blackmailing him into making a Snag just didn't seem very inventive, coming from those two, nor did it seem very...

...Revengeful.

Not that Wes would complain if that was all they wanted from him. But he knew that things around here couldn't have been as simple as they seemed.

His uneasiness was starting to come back in full-force. It didn't help that Rui was locked in the cell along with him. It was going to be very tricky keeping both her and himself alive...

The door to the room opened, making Wes jump slightly—he was much too jumpy for his own good. Shady glided into the room, shutting the door behind himself. Wonderful. Wes remained where he was, eyeing Shady warily.

"I'm supposed to check on you," Shady drawled, staring back at him through the glass. "I assume that you haven't tried to commit suicide or the likes? They seem to be worried that you might _die_ on them." His slight emphasis on the word "die" made Wes even more on edge.

"No," he replied, voice clean of emotion. "I'm not going to commit suicide."

"Pity," was the coldly amused reply.

Wes watched him, face blank.

"I'm on my way to meet with Nascour," Shady said softly, eyes glittering as he met Wes's gaze. "I'm getting the orders on what you're going to be _used_ for. Maybe if you're extra-good, I'll tell you what it is so you don't have to wait so long in anticipation."

"They want me to make a Snag," Wes answered, voice still neutral. "Why else would they have wanted the Snag Machine? All I need to know is what I'm supposed to be Snagging, and from who."

Shady smirked. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

"I guess we will."

He turned to leave, calling over his shoulder, "Be seeing you sometime else, Wes...Don't die." The door slid shut behind him.

Wes couldn't help but shudder once the other was gone. Even though he now knew the truth about Shady—he was his clone—he still thought Shady was eerie.

Rui stirred suddenly, sitting up and yawning. She blinked awake, looking up at him.

"Oh." She gave a soft exclamation. "I must have fallen asleep...I'm really sorry, Wes," she added quickly. She looked disappointed with herself.

"It's alright," he assured her, blinking. He hadn't known that she was going to take her "guard duty" so seriously. "I'm not mad."

She looked relieved. "Oh. Okay." She pushed herself to her feet, straightening her skirt and jacket as she did so. "Did I miss anything?"

"Shady just left," he replied, slightly amused despite himself. Rui looked ready for business; like she used to every morning when they had Snagged all the Shadow Pokemon together. "So you didn't really 'miss' anything, really."

"Did he say anything?" Rui asked, slightly worried again.

"No," Wes answered vaguely, keeping his expression outwardly calm. If Rui thought he was calm about the entire ordeal, then she wouldn't worry so much.

"Oh."

The door to the room slid open and Wes jumped again; fortunately, Rui didn't notice as she had already turned to see who had come in. He turned as well, sighing inwardly—he wished he was really as calm as the facade he was putting on for Rui.

"May! Brenden!" Rui exclaimed happily, going up to the glass as the two Hoenn Trainers slipped into the room quickly.

"Keep it down, Rui," Wes warned, barely audible as he watched Brenden and May as they made sure the door shut behind them. He had to admit—he was slightly impressed with the foreigners. They had made it all the way through the lab, without being detected, down to the cell room where he and Rui were being held. An impressive feat, especially with the lab so alive with Cipher and Team Snagem.

"Hey you two," May said, peering in at them, looking concerned. "We thought they might have you down here. Luckily I remembered the way from when Shady and I 'escaped' from here that one time. Are you okay?"

Rui nodded. "I'm so glad to see you're both okay, too!" This time she kept her voice a little lower.

"Yeah," Brenden agreed, looking slightly rueful. "No more explosions after that, though, alright?" He looked to Wes. "Hanging in there, dude?"

Wes gave a slight nod. "I wouldn't hang around here too long. There are a couple people after my blood right now, and I'd rather you not get caught in the crossfire."

"That's why we're here to rescue you!" May proclaimed. "So let's bust you out of here!" She drew a Pokeball.

"Wait," said Wes, his mind rapidly sifting through all the possible scenarios that could result.

Rui waited patiently; she knew how he always thought things through, running through all the possibilities that could occur. He had done it so many times enough during their Shadow-Pokemon-Snagging days that she knew better than to disturb him. He would make the most logical decision, and then everything would turn out okay. She had full confidence in him.

He seemed to sigh, looking weary all over again. "Don't do it."

"What?!" cried May, confused. "Why not?! We're here to help you out, Wes!"

"Let him explain, May," Brenden calmed her, looking to Wes for an explanation.

"Even if you do get us out of here, they'll still come after me." Wes looked around at the three of them, meeting each of their gazes briefly as he spoke. "It doesn't matter how many times you 'rescue' me—they'll just keep dragging me back here. They seem rather adamant. And I'll be honest; I'd rather not involve any of you any more than you already are in this mess." His gaze stopped on Rui. "Right now they're holding your life over my head so I have to do anything they say—if not, they kill you. And if you were to escape now, they'd probably come after you again too, just so they can use you to blackmail me." He looked back to the two Hoenn natives. "Sooner or later they might decide that you guys aren't worth the trouble, and just kill you to get out of the way."

"But we can't just leave you," said Rui softly, watching him sadly. "I don't want to just leave you here alone. They can kill you too, Wes."

"I've been aware of that for awhile now," Wes answered dryly, but wearily. "No offense, but I'd rather it be me who turns up dead than any of you." He didn't mention that he didn't want to feel guiltier than he already did—it was almost unbearable.

"But we don't want you to turn up dead, either," protested May, her eyes fiery.

Brenden allowed himself a grin. "We're your friends Wes, like it or not. And this is how we do things in Hoenn." He looked at the pair from Orre, still grinning. "We compromise—you don't want us dead, and we don't want you dead. I think we can draw up an agreement somehow."

Rui gave a soft laugh. "We can all help," she said, turning back to her hero. "And we'll do it really carefully, okay?"

For the first time, Wes looked a little at a loss; unable to find anything to say. Help with _what_? he wanted to ask.

"It's okay, you can thank us later," May said dryly, putting her Pokeball back on her belt, "Once we finish this up for good. So, if you don't want us busting you out, then what can we do? And if you tell us to go home, then I will be very upset." Her grin betrayed her seriousness.

"You don't want that," Brenden advised wryly.

Wes held back another inward sigh. People from Hoenn were a bit too damn cheerful. He was, though, a tiny bit grateful that they still considered him a friend. "I guess not." He thought a moment. "Well..." he began, slightly hesitant. "Shady was just in here before you showed up. He told me that he was on his way to collect some information."

"Want us to follow him?" Brenden asked, catching on right away.

Wes nodded, though still hesitant. "It should be pretty important information. He's meeting with Nascour—" He broke off and glanced at Rui. "You told them about—?" When she nodded, he continued. "He's going to go meet with Nascour to get information about what Evice wants me to be 'used' for."

May nodded, looking intrigued. "We can do it."

"Be careful," Wes cautioned. "Don't be seen. I don't know where they're supposed to be meeting, but it's not bound to be a nice place. If things turn nasty, just get out of there."

"We promise," Brenden replied, seeing how hesitant the Snagger was. He had the feeling that Wes didn't like sending them out after Shady at all. "But will you two be alright in the meantime?"

"They shouldn't do anything to us until Shady gets back, and maybe not even then," Wes answered, sounding slightly more confident. "I'm probably supposed to make a Snag of some sort—after all that about the Snag Machine—but who knows who and what my target will be."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Rui assured the two Hoenn Trainers with a smile. "He'll be safe with me."

May laughed. "Now I feel better. Come on, Brenden! We don't want Shady to get too far ahead of us!"

"We're going, we're going," Brenden replied, rolling his eyes slightly. He turned back to Wes and Rui, grinning again. "We did it—we compromised. You're going to let us help you out, and in exchange, we're not going to turn up dead. Satisfied?"

"I am in no position to make demands from you," Wes answered, faintly rueful. "But...thank you."

"Satisfied," Rui agreed happily. She liked this "compromising" business.

"We're off," May said, sending out a Ralts. "And we'll all be careful."

"Good luck." Rui replied earnestly.

"You too." Brenden gave her a nod.

"Teleport!" ordered May, "To the front of the lab!"

Wes watched as the two Hoenn Trainers disappeared in a flash of light. He didn't like sending them out after Shady at all, but it couldn't be helped. They said they wanted to help him, anyway. He'd already warned them enough...

...He still didn't have to like it, though.

Rui turned back to him, looking slightly excited. "Things will get better, Wes. Right?"

"Right..." He trailed, already back behind his facade of calm.

He didn't think he sounded too convincing.

* * *

Ein watched the television screen that was connected to the surveillance camera in the cell room as the two Trainers from Hoenn disappeared in a flash, using the technique Teleport. There was no sound, but he had been able to read lips well enough to be able to guess what they were up to. 

"Interesting," he mumbled to himself, before turning back to his ever-present notes.

Not a word would be said to his superiors.

* * *

Aww, Wes is angsty. Anyone who can't see him as someone who is angsty needs to reevaluate themselves. XD Haha. 

Thanks and come again!


	20. Down to the Under

So...I originally had this chapter ready on Friday night, but couldn't login all weekend long! What was all that about?!

**angel-in-training312** - Continued! Soon? Hopefully soon enough for ya!

**Kai's Snowfall** - Okay. I won't deny it. 8D Thanks! And sneaky, sneaky Ein...

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Shady just keeps getting nastier and nastier, huh? Thanks for the support, all.

**Celestial-Dragonz** - Yes, what _is_ Ein up to? You get the feeling that everyone has their own agenda around here...Hmm.

**Hiro the Wolf** - Hiya, haven't seen you in awhile. (sweat-drop) Mostly my fault, for not updating for so long. But anyway, your wait for this chapter is over! 8D

**SkyMaster** - No...more...baked...goods... (groan)

Whoops. (looks up) Short replies to your great reviews...I just wanted to get this chapter out after that interesting weekend. Apparently everyone _else_ on this site was logged in or something? Haha.

* * *

The spikes of her pointed heels clicking loudly on the polished floor, Lady Venus made her way through the hallways, her pink veil fluttering as she walked. Two of her pink-clad Peons flanked her, silent as they followed their mistress down to Ein's private work room. They had just returned to the lab after a shopping spree in Phenac—under special guises, of course—and she was already bored. The stuff-bag, she had decided, would come up with something for her to do. 

"Wait out here," she commanded when they reached the door. The Peons consented, moving to stand on either side of the door. Their Lady entered the room, the door shutting firmly behind her.

The scientist was hunched over his work, his pen scratching away at his paper. Venus came to a stop a few paces behind him, tapping her foot impatiently, and heaving a heavy sigh every few moments; trying to get his attention. Ein continued to work, ignoring her easily for the time being. He needed to finish this sentence about—

"For Ho-Oh's sake, Ein!" Venus cried in her best girly-girl voice. "I'm right here, you know!"

"Apparently so," Ein muttered in reply, putting his pen down with a sigh and swiveling in his chair to look at his fellow Admin. "What can I do for you, Venus?"

"It's 'Lady' Venus." She pouted behind her veil.

"I hardly believe it matters." Ein decided to be frank with her.

She tossed her head like a Ponyta, head high. "Well I do," she sniffed. She looked back at him coyly. "How is our little Snagger?" She peered past him, at the TV screen that monitored the cell room. "Is that where he is?"

"Yes, he's in there." Ein replied blandly. He wanted to get back to work.

"Oh!" Venus giggled, pushing her veil out of her face. "You've got his little girlfriend too? That's so cute!"

It was Ein's turn to be impatient; he tapped the counter. "Are you here with purpose, or are you just here?"

"I'm absolutely, positively_ bored_ around here!" she cried in answer, back to pouting in a split second's worth of time. "I don't have anything to do at all! I mean, it's not like I'm some ruffian Team Boss, or some kind of super _important _scientist—"

"Have you gone shopping lately?" Ein asked, slightly hopeful.

"I just got back!"

Ein sighed softly, his hope having been bashed brutally in at those words. "Ah."

Venus sighed loudly. "So you don't have any ideas as to what I should do now?"

Go on another shopping trip...? "Well...Not that I'm aware of. How about checking in with Dakim and Miror B?"

"Is Shady here?" she asked brightly.

"No. Gonzap sent him to meet with Master Nascour."

"Oh." She thought a moment. "I'll go visit our little Snagger first. Then I'll find Dakim and Miror B."

"Brilliant," Ein answered. It took all his might not to sound relieved. Venus was much better to talk to when she was in one of her baleful moods, not her bouncing, happy, shopper-girl moods. Besides, he had notes to pre-write before his experiment.

She clapped her hands gleefully. "I'll see you again later, Ein!" She left the room, the sound of her heels fading.

Thoroughly relieved, Ein turned back to his notes in peace. It wouldn't be long now...

* * *

Shady descended down into the Under via the elevator, arms folded. After Gonzap had given him the orders to meet with Nascour, he had left the lab, heading for Pyrite. He had spent the night in the dark alleys of the run-down city—somehow, it was much better than finding a place to sleep in the damn lab—before heading for the elevator first thing in the morning. 

Gonzap hadn't really given an exact time of when he was supposed to meet with Nascour, so Shady had decided to get there early. From the few times he had seen Nascour around the lab, he had observed that the man disliked tardiness, and was strict with his punishments. Easier for him to just get there early, and wait if he had to; compared to getting there late and suffering the consequences.

The elevator arrived at the floor of the Under and the gates opened, allowing Shady to step off the rusting platform. Red coat swishing slightly, he made his way along the edge of the giant abyss, which was portrayed in the eerie shadows of the neon signs that were the main source of light in the below-ground town—barely any light from the top of the abyss, in Pyrite, shined down to these depths.

And Shady was about to go deeper.

Silently, he climbed the stairs to the small platform that looked over the edge of the abyss, approaching the control pannel for the famous UFO of the Under. From a pocket in his coat, he pulled out one of the more rare controls: a D-Disk. He slid the disk into the pannel, waiting for the light to give him the signal.

He recieved his disk back and stepped onto the hovering UFO that waited beside the platform. Once it felt his weight, it slowly began to descend down. He slipped the disk back into his coat as the platform and the glow of the neon lights disappeared from view.

He disappeared down into the Deep.

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?" 

Wes glanced over at his cell-mate. For once, Rui's voice was soft and gentle; not hopeful and bright. She was watching him thoughtfully as he leaned against the back wall of the cell—it had become his favorite position—with his arms folded loosely.

"I'm fine." Had he been one to give fake smiles, he might have given her one.

For once, she didn't ask him if he were sure. She merely bit her lower lip, looking troubled.

The rest of the day had passed uneventfully, but the night had been long and seemingly endless. Rui had tried to get Wes to sleep on several different occasions as the hours slipped away painfully slow; only to succeed once. The Snagger had only slept fitfully for about an hour, before jolting awake, shivering and shaking, and mumbling under his breath. She had tried asking him about it, but Wes had refused to answer, merely telling her to get some rest of her own.

Rui had obeyed, sensing his want to be left alone. She had managed to fall asleep, for a few hours, only to wake sometime around dawn, according to Wes. Their situation was no better, and no worse.

She could tell that Wes was having second thoughts about sending Brenden and May after Shady. Despite his efforts to seem calm and collected, Rui knew him well enough to see that he was slowly being mentally torn apart due to stress, and adding Brenden and May's names to the list hadn't been a good idea. Rui wanted nothing more than to give him a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but she knew that she couldn't—he needed to at least keep some of his fast-wilting pride.

...And she herself wasn't even sure if everything was going to be okay.

The door to the cell room opened, and Rui pretended not to notice as Wes jumped; instead looking to see who entered. Venus trotted into the room with two of her lackeys, giggling as she looked in at them.

"Helloooooo!"

Rui glared at Venus. Out of all the Cipher Admins, Venus was the one who she loathed the most.

Wes merely looked as if a he had a serious headache.

The Admin peered at them, her eyes bold behind her pink veil as she sized up Wes, and dismissive as she glanced briefly at Rui. "So now we have both of you at the lab! How cute! You two kiddies were at the top of our black list, you know!"

Rui folded her arms, still glowering at the woman. "Why don't you get back to shopping and leave us alone, Venus? It's not like you were any good at Pokemon battles."

Venus sputtered for a moment. "You insolent little girl! How dare you mock me!"

Unimpressed, Rui held her ground. "It's the truth."

"Little brat! I hope they take revenge on you, too!" Tearfully, Venus spun around and left, her Peons half-running to catch up with her, slamming the door behind them.

Wes stared at Rui, slightly surprised—when had she gotten so bold? May must have been rubbing off on her...

Rui blushed slightly, seeing him staring. "I just wanted her to go away."

"Me too," he agreed lightly, and Rui swore she could detect a faint note of amusement in his voice.

* * *

May stuck close to Brenden as she followed him through the tight gap between two grimey buildings. They had followed Wes's look-alike after he had left the lab in the desert the day before, tailing him through Pyrite, only to discover that he was planning on spending the night deep in a network of alleys that were even more gloomy than the ones in Phenac. 

The next morning, Shady had disappeared belowground.

Carefully, the two Hoenn Trainers had followed him, riding the big elevator down. May's guidebook of Orre didn't have much to say on the town called the Under, only cautioning tourists against wandering through the town without a local who knew where they were going. Grimly, they had taken this in consideration.

"We'll follow Shady as far as we can go," Brenden had decided at last as they rode the elevator down. "We have our Pokemon if anyone tries anything, and we can always find our way out somehow if we get lost."

Now they watched from the shadows of the neon lights as Shady boarded a hovering contraption of sorts and disappeared over the edge of the huge abyss, descending downwards. Once they were sure that he was not going to be coming back up, May and Brenden approached the platform that hung dangerously out over the void.

"We need some kind of disk," May said, sounding disappointed as she examined the control pannel as the hovering contraption arrived, empty, to wait beside the platform for its next passengers.

"This is probably what that book meant about not coming down here without a local," Brenden muttered, momentarily defeated. He looked across the chasm. "See, there's where the Poke Center is. And probably the Colosseum."

"We can't Fly down, either," May added. "We'd crash—it's too dark. And Flash would probably seriously annoy the residents, which is not what we want to do."

"Not to mention call way too much attention to ourselves," Brenden said dryly. He sighed. "Well, it looks like this is it. We can't follow Shady any farther without a disk, like you mentioned."

May looked put out. "We're useless after all...I wish we had one of those disks!"

Brenden nodded, also feeling useless.

"You need a disk?"

Brenden and May turned to see a young girl standing at the foot of the platform, watching them curiously. A Shroomish stood beside her, blinking up at them.

"Yes," May said at once, smiling at the girl. "We're not from here. Do you have one we could borrow? We really need to go down on this thing." She motioned behind them.

The girl looked at them skeptically. "You need a D-Disk?"

"Yes," Brenden said with a shrug when May looked to him for an answer. "Please."

"Well..." She seemed to consider them. "I don't have any disks with me, but my brother Nett should have them all. Want to come to my house and see if he'll lend you a D-Disk?"

May nodded. "Yeah! Thanks a lot. We really need one of those things...a D-Disk."

She gave them a smile. "You seemed like you were really upset. Follow me."

The two Hoenn natives exchanged brief glances before following the girl and her Shroomish, disappearing into the gloom of the Under.

* * *

Yay for Nett! 

I feel incredibly stupid, but...

Does anyone know off the top of their head the name of Nett's sister?! (weak laugh) I can't remember it for the life of me, and I'm not at liberty to go look it up in the game as of right now. And...um...is she even his sister...?

...That's pretty pathetic. And here I am trying to write a decent story. (smack)

(sweat-drop) 8D


	21. Descent to the Deep

Hello hello—

**super-rat** - I'm glad you think so! Keep reading!

**angel-in-training312** - Still continuing! I'm on an amazing roll, here...Haha.

**Kyo Number 1 Fan** - I actually somehow found your fic a few days ago...I'll get around to actually reading it someday. (sweat-drop) But I'll be sure to leave you a review once I do. 8D

**Hiro the Wolf** - Ah, yes; Venus does need a good reality-check every now and then. O.o Haha.

**SkyMaster** - You seem to like to repeat that fact often...and that's...um...rather violent...

**Dark Angel of the Underworld** - Glad you love it. 8D

Special thanks to **Hiro the Wolf** and **Dark Angel of the Underworld** for reminding me that the name of Nett's sister is Megg! Thanks so much, you two! (still feels incredibly stupid)

Onward!

* * *

May and Brenden followed the girl and her Pokemon all the way to a small house on the edge of the Under, away from most of the other buildings. May stuck close to Brenden, afraid that she might get lost in the shadows. 

The girl turned to face them once they were at the front door to the house. "This is my house. My brother Nett should be home. Would you like to come in?"

"Please," replied May fervently. The Under was beginning to creep her out.

"Come on," was the reply. "But please don't touch anything."

She opened the door, and May and Brenden stepped inside, wondering what she had meant by that. Shutting the door behind them, the girl followed. Compared to the gloomy Under, the small house was bright and cheery. May looked around. It was only a single room, with barely any features to it. Strange. In the center of the room, a wide staircase led downwards.

"Nett will be down here," the girl explained. She picked up her Shroomish and started down the stairs. "Follow me."

The two Hoenn Trainers followed her down the stairs. They emerged in a wide room that reminded May of what she had seen of the Shadow Pokemon Lab out in the desert—everything gleamed brightly and looked to be high-tech. A large computer monitor blinked rapidly on one side of the room, calculating some form of...something.

"Nett, we have visitors," called their companion. She disappeared into a side room, the door sliding open. Curiously, May and Brenden followed her.

"Visitors?" A boy sat in front of a much smaller computer monitor, sounding slightly exasperated. "Come on, Megg...You know I'm still trying to figure out why this e-mail keeps bouncing whenever I try to send it..."

Megg stopped beside him, placing her Shroomish on the desk in front of him. "Maybe it's not something so technical like you think it is," she remarked dryly, "and maybe Wes just got a new address."

"Ah," said Nett. Rapidly, he clicked on something. "Maybe you're right...It'd be just like him to_ forget_ to tell me..."

"You know Wes?" Brenden blurted before he could stop himself.

"Of course! Everyone knows Wes—he's a hero!" Megg answered proudly. "He saved Orre from Cipher when they were making Shadow Pokemon. My brother Nett and I are part of the Kids Grid, and we helped him out a lot!"

"Wes's PDA was destroyed not too long ago," May spoke up, "so that's probably why your e-mail won't go through."

Nett swiveled around in his chair to take them in. He looked to be only a year or so older than his sister. "How do you know it was destroyed?" he asked, slightly skeptical.

"We're friends of Wes—and Rui—too," May answered, "but a lot of, um, _stuff_ has been happening lately. It has to do with Cipher and Team Snagem."

Megg turned to her brother. "That can't be good, Nett."

Nett surveyed them carefully, looking thoughtful. "Maybe you had better start from the beginning."

May and Brenden each nodded, and began.

* * *

Shady reached the rock bottom of the abyss, also known as the Deep. He stepped off of the UFO and didn't bother to watch as it began to rise again, heading back up to the Under to wait for its next passengers. 

Instead, he headed for the large door that was basically all that could be seen in the dim, flickering light. As he approached, the door slowly opened, rising up, and admitted him to the Deep Colosseum.

The main lobby of the Colosseum was filled with a scattered handful of Trainers; most of them Miners and Hunters, waiting for the next round of battles to begin.

Shady swept past them all, heading for one of the two sets of double doors at the far end of the room. The receptionist at the front desk eyed him for a moment when he didn't disappear into the doors that led to the spectator's stands, but then looked back down to her forms and paperwork quickly.

In the Deep, it was best to mind your own business.

Shady stepped into the long, narrow hallway, letting the doors slam behind him. Supposedly, this was where all the Cipher Admins had hid after Wes had defeated them at the Realgam Tower—that is, until Wes had come down to the Deep to uproot them again; defeating them all for a third time in battle.

Losers.

He made his way down the hall, passing several doorways. He had been down here once before, and he knew that the room Nascour would want to use would be the one at the very end of the hall. Shady approached the door and slipped inside the office-room.

"Hey, kid," a voice greeted him. Agnol, the Deep King—or so he called himself—lounged back lazily in the chair behind the desk in the wide, spacious room. He flexed his muscles, stretching. "You look familiar. Don't tell me you're the same kid who Snagged my Shuckle a couple years back."

"I'm not him," Shady said icily. "I'm here to meet with Nascour."

"Oh yeah...He dropped me a call yesterday, mentioning that he'd be in. You know, you do look _just _like the kid who Snagged—"

"I don't care," Shady interrupted him. He moved a few paces sideways from the door and leaned back against the wall, arms folded. "Did Nascour mention when he'd be here?" he demanded. He had no desire to stay and make small-talk with Agnol.

"Should be here soon, I think," was the breezy reply.

Great.

* * *

Megg looked horrified by the conclusion of their grim story. She turned to her brother, holding onto her Shroomish tightly once more. 

"We have to help them out, Nett! This is terrible!"

Nett nodded, looking just as grim as Brenden and May. "So that's why you need a D-Disk, so you can follow this Shady person."

May nodded. "Yes please."

Nett gave them a grin despite the situation. "You have the full support of the Kids Grid. We'll help you out with anything you need." He began to fish around in a messy drawer at his desk.

"Thanks," Brenden answered. They were extremely lucky that Megg had happened to overhear his and May's conversation beside what he know knew was called the UFO...

"Here." Nett produced a small, thin disk from the drawer and handed it to May. "I made this a couple years back. It has all the disks compiled into one: D-Disk, U-Disk, R-Disk, and L-Disk. You can take the UFO anywhere now, and you don't even have to carry four disks."

"Thank you so much, Nett!" May said brightly, handing the disk to Brenden. "I'm so glad we met you."

Nett nodded. "Me too. The next time you see Wes and Rui, give them our best. And this." He handed Brenden two PDAs. "Slip one to Wes or Rui, and keep one for yourselves. This way, we can all keep in touch."

"Good idea."

"And tell Rui and Wes good luck and to be safe!" Megg added.

May got the impression that the girl had a mild crush on the Snagger. "We will," she promised.

"Good luck and be safe to you as well," Nett said. "My e-mail is already programmed into both of the PDAs. E-mail us if you need help with anything. I'll let you know if we hear anything too."

Brenden nodded. "Thanks. Let's go, May."

He and May left the Kids Grid base, making their way back to the UFO. Now that they approached the control panel on the edge of the abyss, Brenden slid the disk into the correct place, and a small light blinked beside faded words that read "D-Disk."

Quickly, May and Brenden boarded the UFO, and then stood still as they drifted down to the Deep.

* * *

Ein carefully poured a dark red liquid from a small beaker into a smaller test tube, noting how his concoction bubbled slightly. Delicately, he set the beaker down and scribbled a small sentence quickly beneath his notes, and then turned his attention back to the beaker. 

Excellent.

Before he had added the red liquid, there had been a deep blue liquid simmering at the bottom of the test tube. Now, the combined liquids bubbled gently, and was dark purple in color. Satisfied, Ein carefully placed the test tube into the freezer to let it sit.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

* * *

Shady straightened when Nascour glided into the room, and even Agnol—finally—stopped talking. Nascour came to a stop, glancing first at Agnol and then to Shady, his crisp black suit blending slightly with the shadows of the dully-lit room. 

"Leave us," Nascour said, his gaze flickering back to Agnol.

The Deep King climbed to his feet. "Of course. I'm on my way to a Colosseum battle anyway." He sounded indifferent. He strode past the other two, disappearing into the narrow hall, shutting the door with a click.

"You're here in place of Gonzap?" Nascour turned his full attention to Shady.

He nodded. "Yes sir," he said calmly, keeping his voice politely respectful.

"Give this to Ein." Nascour produced a sealed envelope from the depths of his suit's jacket, handing it over to Shady. "In private. No one is to know of this other than Ein, and obviously yourself. If you fail me, you will die." He started for the door, as if to leave.

Shady slipped the envelope into his coat. "What of Wes?" he asked carefully.

"I'll leave you to decide what to tell Gonzap." Nascour glanced back. "However, he is not to die yet." There was slight warning in his voice.

Shady nodded. "Right."

Nascour left without further word, disappearing into the hallway.

Shady remained where he was for a few moments, thinking. He was slightly curious as to what the sealed envelope in his coat contained, but wasn't about to fully investigate—it would be very obvious if he broke the seal. Nascour worked directly for Evice, but something about the way Nascour had ordered him to present the envelope to Ein in private made Shady feel as if even Evice did not know what his right-hand-man was up to. Interesting.

He gave a faint hint of a smirk. This was getting to be fun.

* * *

May followed Brenden into the main lobby of the Colosseum, looking around for any signs of Shady. The lobby was eerily empty; a round of battles must have just started. 

"I didn't know there was even a Colosseum down here," May whispered to Brenden.

"Neither did I," Brenden replied in a low voice. "Do you think Shady went out into the spectator's stands?"

"I don't think so," May answered, sounding doubtful, "I don't think he and Nascour would exchange information where so many other people might overhear..."

Brenden nodded in agreement.

"But if he didn't go there," began May, still doubtful, "then where else could he have—"

Shady appeared from one of the two sets of double doors on the other side of the room. His appearance was so sudden that they both froze as his gaze snapped up to see them, and he came to a stop.

"Imagine seeing you here," he said, the first to recover. He took a step closer, and Brenden moved slightly ahead of May so that she was behind him. "How did two Hoenn Trainers manage to find a D-Disk to get down here?" he asked mockingly.

"Came with a tourist package," Brenden answered automatically, keeping his voice steady. He was very aware of the fact that they were at the bottom of a very deep hole and the fact that Shady probably still had his gun.

"Doubtful," Shady drawled. He took another step forward, and hissed, "I don't know how you managed to follow me all the way down here, but I'm going to make sure that you _don't_ follow me back up."

"So you want to draw attention to yourself and Cipher by shooting us here?" Brenden asked, keeping his voice just as low.

Shady smirked. "You're a tourist, so let me enlighten you to one little fact: this is the Deep. What happens down here _stays_ down here." He allowed them to see a flash of metal—his gun.

May glanced at the Colosseum receptionist. She kept herself busy, keeping her eyes glued to her paperwork, and pointedly ignoring the three Trainers in the lobby. May looked back to Shady, afraid to move.

"We followed you down here to see what you were up to," Brenden said, keeping still. "If you're going to kill us, at least _enlighten_ us a little more."

"That won't be necessary," was the flat reply.

Suddenly the door behind the receptionist's desk opened, and a tall man strode into the room, announcing in a booming voice, "Victory goes to the Deep King once more!" He stopped, and spotted the other three Trainers. "You're still here, Shady! Has Nascour really already left? Care to pick up our conversation where we left off?"

"I have business elsewhere, Agnol," Shady replied icily, "if I'm to meet Nascour's expectations."

"Pity. Well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you."

"Sure." Shady threw Brenden and May a nasty look and then swept away, leaving the Colosseum. Brenden got the impression that he wanted to put great distance between himself and this Agnol person.

"Go out for a battle to challenge me," Agnol encouraged them, before disappearing into the same set of double doors that Shady had appeared from.

"That was close." May sagged against Brenden for a moment, relieved, as the lobby was suddenly crowded with people who had just watched the Colosseum round of battles.

"Yeah," agreed Brenden, resisting the urge to sink to the floor where he stood, just as relieved as May was. "That was too close. I think that just about ate up the rest of our good luck." He paused. "We can't let him see us again, or next time he really will shoot us, no matter where we happen to be."

May nodded. "Yeah..."

"Come on. Let's at least somehow get one of the PDAs that Nett gave us to Wes and Rui," Brenden said, shouldering his way through the crowd. "We might not have figured out what Shady was up to, but now we have a few more allies."

The two Hoenn Trainers left the Colosseum to catch a ride on the UFO, heading back up to the light.

* * *

Hmm...All this fishy behavior...What could all these Cipher-people be up to? Any intelligent guesses?

Haha.

Till next time. 8D


	22. A Wave Of Exhaustion

Hello everyone—

**DragonGirl** - Hmm. Yes, that would be, uh, quite strange...

**QUEEN EEVEE** - It's okay, and welcome back. 8D Well...you're getting warmer, but let's just say that Ein and Nascour are perhaps using Cipher and Team Snagem for their own benefits. And as for Wes...I can make no promises.

**Hiro the Wolf** - Well I'm glad you like this story. 8D Yes...I don't think I ever got the chance to read the story you used to have about Colosseum. (soft sigh) I will never know the greatness that it probably was. (grin) Thanks for the review.

**Blaziken'sGirl **- Well that _is_ an interesting idea. I will trigger your curiosity by informing you that you're almost dead-on with one of your very intelligent guesses. 8D

**Rikkun** - It's okay. Me too.

**SkyMaster** - Did you figure all that out by yourself? 8D

Thank you all for entertaining me with some of your very interesting guesses. (laughs) More Wes-clones seemed to be a favorite. (sweat-drop) I think most of the characters in this story would be like: "No! No more Shady(s)!!!! Aaaahhhhhh!" Haha.

Onward.

* * *

Wes picked himself up slowly, wearily climbing to his feet. He spat red and wiped his mouth with one gloved hand, keeping his eyes on Gonzap as he backed away a few paces, until his back hit the wall. 

Gonzap smirked. "I love having you back on the Team. You've always been the best with helping me vent my anger out."

The Snagger didn't reply at first. He was still only half-awake, and already spitting blood. Rui, back in the cell room still—thank Celebi—was probably worried about him. She had, after all, just finally managed to convince him to get some sleep again, and then Gonzap had barged in and dragged him off, back to his "office."

"'Venting your anger' is a really bad excuse," Wes said at last, with an inward sigh, "especially since I know that you just like to pound the crap out of me."

"You're a smart kid," Gonzap replied with another smirk, advancing on him.

Wes stayed still. He didn't have anywhere to run, anyway...

Gonzap lunged, and slammed his subordinate against the wall, scraping Wes's back against the concrete as he raised the Snagger up. Wes didn't even struggle as Gonzap held him there, one hand at his throat, as his boots dangled at least a foot or two off the ground.

"Come on, Wes," Gonzap goaded, his hot breath disgustingly close, "what happened to the good struggles you used to give? You're _boring_ now."

That would be the point, asshole. "I don't know," was all he managed to say, his voice strained.

He didn't protest when Gonzap whirled around and threw him to the ground. Wes let out a soft moan of pain, rolling over onto his stomach before Gonzap could kick him there. Instead, Gonzap slammed one heavy boot down onto his back, grinding down on his spine.

"You know, you've gotten pretty slow, too," Gonzap commented, pressing down harder. "I can remember when you were fast—even fast enough to get away, sometimes. What's the matter with you, huh? Little shithead."

He didn't answer. He didn't know what was wrong with himself. Every last bit of defiance he might have once possessed was gone; crushed out of him like how Gonzap was crushing him now.

Wes breathed a tiny sigh of relief when Gonzap lifted his boot from his back, but then he was hauled roughly to his feet.

"Look at you. You look like shit." Gonzap surveyed him, keeping one hand on Wes's shoulder.

"No thanks to you." Wes replied dully. It was what Gonzap wanted—to get pissed off at him.

But Gonzap merely laughed. "Yeah. That's right, kid." He drew back a fist and punched.

* * *

Shady was tackled when he stepped off of the elevator that had brought him from the surface of the desert down into the lab. Miror B's afro swung wildly as its owner danced in place. Dakim stood by, looking sullen, while Venus flung her arms around him. 

"Shady!" She squeezed him tightly. "Welcome back, sweetie!"

"Get off me!" Furious, Shady struggled out of her grasp and backed away slightly, straightening his coat. "What do _you_ want?"

Venus giggled. "Just welcoming you back, honey. How was Master Nascour?"

"Fine," Shady replied curtly, still annoyed. He had no time for these goons.

"Wondrous!" Miror B. cried, doing a quick spin in delight. "Now our plans may proceed!"

Dakim merely grunted, trying to look just as excited as his fellow Admins.

Shady regarded them all with distaste. None of them had any idea as to what the "plans" really were, but obviously they were all ready to follow orders like the good Mareep that they were. Sickening. He had his own ideas.

"See you," Shady said abruptly, interrupting Venus, who was chattering away about something useless.

"Okay, sweetie!" She batted her eyelashes coyly.

Suppressing a shudder, Shady headed for Ein's room. He still had Nascour's envelope to deliver to the scientist and report to Gonzap, but then he had a few things to take care of himself. He was much more interested in accomplishing his goals, so he wanted to get Nascour's orders over with.

Ein was once again bent over his notes when Shady entered the lab room. He knew better than to interrupt, so he leaned against the wall to wait for the scientist to acknowledge him; only slightly impatient.

"So. You're back." Ein straightened, setting his pen down. He moved over to the freezer, opening the door briefly to glance inside. "And what did Nascour have to say?"

"I'm supposed to give you this." Shady straightened as well and produced the mysterious envelope, holding it out. "And apparently it's a big secret."

"Yes, it is." Ein shut the freezer and took the envelope and broke the seal, pulling out the paper inside. He skimmed through the note, his eyes sharp. He actually gave a razor-thin smile as he crumpled the note in a balled fist.

"I take it that it's good?" Shady asked dryly.

Ein turned away to hide a bigger smirk. "Very good." You have no idea, little clone.

"I'm outta here. I've got to report to Gonzap." Shady turned to leave the room.

"Report here tomorrow morning. I don't care if Gonzap has other plans—I need your...assistance...here."

"Yeah, whatever." Shady left, the door sliding shut behind him.

Thoroughly satisfied, Ein tossed the note from Nascour onto a burner, allowing the paper to flame for a few moments before it disintegrated; all evidence gone.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow morning.

* * *

Rui paced back and forth in the empty cell, worried. Gonzap had dragged Wes away over an hour ago, and still no one had returned to the cell room. She was afraid that Wes was hurt somewhere, and that she couldn't help him. 

She had just finally gotten him to agree to try and sleep, too...

Suddenly she was no longer alone. The air shimmered slightly, and suddenly a Ralts appeared. Rui crouched down beside the little green Pokemon, holding out a hand in what she hoped was a non-threatening way. She had a feeling she knew who the Pokemon belonged to.

The Ralts blinked up at her, and the air shimmered again. Rui gasped softly—there was now a brand-new PDA sitting next to the little Pokemon. It began to vibrate, and she picked it up. Glancing around, Rui quickly opened the PDA's mailbox.

"May and Brenden," she whispered softly with a weak smile, and then began to read the e-mail.

_Wes and Rui:_

_Hi, it's us! We managed to follow Shady all the way down to the Deep! The only reason we got that far is because we met an old friend of yours; Nett. Remember him? He's the one who gave us the D-Disk in order to get down to the Deep, and he gave us two PDAs. Obviously, you guys now have one of them and we have the other one. Now we can communicate much more easily. _

_We couldn't figure out what Shady was up to, though. We're sorry! He gave us the slip and we weren't able to figure out what he was really doing all the way down there. We followed your advice, though, Wes, and we were really careful. _

_Hope you guys are doing okay and reply to this as soon as possible! We still want to help you guys out!_

_May and Brenden._

Rui shut the PDA with a snap and slipped it into her coat pocket. She would wait for Wes to come back before replying.

"Thanks, Ralts," she said softly, giving the Psychic-type a gentle pat.

The little Pokemon seemed to give her a grin, before disappearing into thin air, teleporting back to May and Brenden.

With a sigh, Rui settled into a more comfortable sitting position. Now all she could do was wait for Wes to come back. But she felt slightly better, now that she had the PDA in her pocket.

* * *

His next stop was Gonzap's office, and this was the part that he was not looking forward to. Gonzap was annoying. 

"You," Gonzap merely said upon Shady's arrival. The Team Snagem Boss was busy kicking the unconscious form of Wes against the side of his office, seemingly to get him out of the way.

Shady raised his eyebrows slightly, leaning against the wall. "Nascour wants him alive, you know."

Gonzap glanced at him as he went to sit down behind his desk. "So? He's still alive."

"I can see that. I'm just telling you what Nascour told me to tell you."

Gonzap reclined back in his chair. "Heh. Little messenger boy now, are you?" He leered.

Shady glowered for a moment, before his face was wiped clean of expression. "You always have me to report to you," he pointed out, keeping his voice calm. "I'm just following your orders."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. What're Nascour's orders?"

"He only said to just keep Wes alive. Evice will send word soon, though."

"Tch."

Shady didn't say anything. He noted that Wes was definitely out cold, and probably wouldn't be waking up for some time.

"And that was it?"

"Yes." Shady snapped. He paused, and added, "And Ein wants me to report to him tomorrow morning, so I won't be around."

"Why?" demanded Gonzap suspiciously.

"I don't know."

"Hmph. You're _my_ Team member, not one of his stupid Peons. Don't show."

"Fine." Shady kept his face blank. He didn't care either way; he just didn't want to be caught in the middle of a territorial argument over subordinates. Ein would probably win, anyway.

"Good." Gonzap seemed pleased. "Now get out of here, before I pound you too. And tell some of the Grunts to get in here and drag that piece of shit out of my office." He nodded to Wes, spitting to the side as he spoke.

Shady was more than happy to leave.

* * *

Rui's pale face hovered above him as the rest of the world slowly swirled into view. He shut his eyes again briefly—he hurt all over, and he hadn't even tried to move yet. 

"Wes?" Rui asked tentatively, her voice soft. "Oh, Wes..."

He sat up, biting his tongue to keep from giving a moan of pain. Gonzap must have gotten in a few good kicks to his stomach after he had lost consciousness; he felt like he had cracked ribs. Still tentative, Rui reached out and carefully put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"How long have I been out?" he mumbled when he was sure that he could mask all pain. His mouth tasted like the bitter tang of blood.

"Well you weren't brought back in here until about two hours after Gonzap dragged you away," Rui answered, sounding as if she were struggling to keep concern out of her voice. "And then you were unconscious for about another two..."

"Oh." It was all he could really manage to say. His brain felt numb, and had he been one to cry, he had a feeling that he would have broken down right about now—he was so _tired_, and he was in pain...

"Wes?" Rui had evidently lost the battle to remain unconcerned: she sounded extremely worried.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He pulled away from her, dragging himself over to the corner farthest away from the door to the cell. He leaned back against the wall, pulling his legs up to his chest and burying his face in his knees, shutting his eyes with a shaky sigh.

Rui watched her companion, biting her lower lip. He didn't even move when Espeon and Umbreon invited themselves out of their Pokeballs, rubbing against him comfortingly. She hadn't liked the expression in his golden eyes at all—he looked lost, and completely drained of will. Had her strong hero given up all hope?

She had wanted to show Wes the new PDA and the e-mail May and Brenden had sent, but now she didn't want to bother him. Rui resolved to tell him the next time she got the chance.

Umbreon, tired of how his master wasn't petting him or giving him any form of attention, trotted over to Rui and curled up in her lap, putting his head down with his ears lowered. Rui stroked his shiny fur slowly, wishing she had a way to cheer up the black Pokemon and his master.

Espeon remained next to Wes, leaning against his master with a soft sigh.

* * *

Brenden sat wearily at the small table in the hotel room, watching as May's Ralts, perched on the tabletop nearby, played with its psychic-abilities by levitating various small objects across the room. May was on one of the two beds in the room, fast asleep. 

After leaving the Deep and the Under, they had resolved to return to their hotel room back in Phenac. May had sent Ralts to deliver the second PDA to Wes and Rui, and the green Pokemon had returned quickly enough, so he assumed that it was safe to say that Wes and Rui had gotten the PDA. There had been no response to the e-mail May had sent soon after, so Brenden assumed that they hadn't had an opportune moment to write back.

He felt a small chill. He didn't want to know exactly what that entailed.

But now the adrenaline rush from journeying through the two towns beneath Pyrite and encountering Shady had faded, leaving them both exhausted. May had fallen asleep on her bed while waiting for Wes and Rui to reply, and now Brenden was thinking that a nap wasn't such a bad idea. Depending on what the reply to their e-mail was, who knew when they would have another opportunity to rest. Even so, he still hoped that Wes would give them some way to help out. He felt slightly disappointed with himself for not being able to figure out Shady's doings for the Snagger.

"Behave yourself," he ordered with a yawn, giving May's Ralts a gentle pat as he pushed himself to his feet and went over to plop down on the other hotel bed opposite of May's.

The Ralts hit him gently with a pillow before floating over to sit beside the sleeping May.

Giving the green Pokemon a small, rueful grin, Brenden laid back on the stiff mattress, and quickly dropped off to sleep.

* * *

Hmm. Everybody's tired. 

...Me too.

Well, except for the bad guys, of course. Are they ever tired anyway?

Hah. Um...Next chapter _might_ be a little delayed in coming out, but it definitely won't be longer than a few days. No more "five-month-long periods of not updating" for me. Heh.

R&R, and maybe I'll put the next chapter together faster...XD


	23. Proceeding As Planned

Well I'm back. I was able to update a little sooner than I had initially expected, so we're looking pretty good here.

**Blaziken'sGirl** - Writer's block is something that I am semi-immune to. (sweat-drop) Well that sounded...strange. But I do get my fair share of that evil curse—hah—but not too often. (weak grin) I actually wish that sometimes I _would_ get writer's block...give my brain a rest from all the ideas that are constantly zooming around inside there: this story isn't my only project. 8D

**TwinTrouble** - Hmm. Escaping from Team Snagem and Cipher doesn't seem to probable as of right now...But yes, I agree with you—when the bad guys get tired (finally!) it is the best time to attack. (laughs)

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Yes, almost right...Hmm. With this chapter, you might see what I mean. Hehe.

**Hiro the Wolf** - A little slow, maybe, but very, very necessary. The last chapter was a bit complex if you really read into it deeply—there were a few key things that you were "supposed" to notice—and that's all I'll say. (grin) But see? No more leaving you hanging for a few months. (sweat-drop)

**Rikkun** - Yes, Ralts. 8D I think this particular one has a "sassy" nature, no? Hah.

**DigitalXover-girl** - Then I'm happy to tell you that the next chapter is now here! 8D Thank you!

**SkyMaster** - And this chapter is where some of it goes down.

**Sukoru** - Hello there! I'm glad you decided to check out a Pokemon fanfic! I hope this particular one set a very good example for you, but I'm sure there are a bunch of other ones out there that are much better. (sweat-drop) Thank you very much for the cookies. 8D

Well then...

Now for the **_t w i s t_** .

Prepare to be thrown in a new direction. (shrug) Unless you're a mind reader and could see where this was going all along. Haha.

...Uh-oh.

* * *

Dakim kicked the block of wood in front of him, effectively snapping it in two with a sharp _crack_. Shoving the pieces aside, he snatched another block off the pile he always kept handy in the room Ein had allowed him to use in the lab, and set it up, before slamming his fist down on it. 

_Crack._

"Change of plans for now, Dakim."

He grunted. "Because what Nascour said?" Next block.

"Yes. We're apparently not allowed to kill him yet."

"When have _you _ever gone by the rules?"

_Crack._

There was a short, dry laugh. "Never, really. But we cannot afford to have Nascour's attention settle on us. Not yet."

"Then what am I to do in the meantime?"

_Crack._

"I'm sure you can think of something. Take a leaf out of Gonzap's book and have fun."

"Very well."

_Crack._

"We won't meet again until I can change your orders back to what they should be."

"Very well."

The presence behind him left.

Dakim stacked his last three blocks up, readying himself. Then, with careful aim, he slammed his forehead down on the stack with a grunt.

_Crack._

* * *

When he raised his head again at last, Wes wasn't sure how much time had passed; he had definitely fallen asleep. But he did know that he felt slightly better than he had before—the pain had subsided to a mere dull throb, and his exhaustion had also diminished. 

Beside him, Espeon rose from his crouched position and stretched. The lavender Pokemon looked up at him and gave a soft, reproving growl. Ruefully, Wes petted his friend thoroughly as Espeon rubbed against him, making a soft noise equivalent to a Skitty purring. Apparently, he had been forgiven.

As he petted Espeon, his eyes settled on Rui. She was leaned back against the wall on the other side of the cell, fast asleep. Umbreon slept in her lap, like some form of black carpet, sprawled across the girl's legs. Espeon paused in rubbing against Wes and gave his partner what seemed to be a disapproving look; Wes shook his head slightly, faintly amused.

Carefully, he pushed himself to his feet and stretched, testing his muscles. Everything was sore and he was slightly stiff, but then again that was nothing new. At least he could move, and it felt good to stretch the tension out of his body.

His movement alerted Umbreon, who scrambled off of Rui and leapt at Wes, waving his tail happily. Rui blinked awake, surprised by Umbreon's sudden and abrupt takeoff, as Wes bent slightly to pick the joyous Pokemon up.

"Sorry, Rui." Wes gave Umbreon a stern look. Umbreon's only response was to lick his face, his lithe body wiggling all over excitedly in his arms.

Rui smiled. "It's okay. He's happy to see you up." She climbed to her feet and brushed herself off—her skirt seemed to be covered in a mass of black fur.

Wes scratched Umbreon behind the ears before setting him gently back on the ground beside Espeon. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But are _you_ okay?" Rui's bright blue eyes seemed unusually piercing as she gazed at him.

"I'm okay."

The eyes never blinked.

"I'm...better than I was before."

Rui smiled. "Good. I'm glad."

Wes gave her a short nod. He felt slightly guilty about having made her worry so much.

"Oh!" Rui blinked, and was suddenly reaching into one of her pockets. "I wanted to show you before, but you were so tired that you went to sleep and I didn't want to bother you. Look what May and Brenden sent via Ralts." She pulled out a PDA, proudly offering it out to him.

"They spent that much?" Wes asked automatically, taking it from her.

Rui laughed softly. Wes was uptight about money—even when he had had to buy Pokeballs during their Snagging adventure. She figured it was because of his background. "No. Take a look at the e-mail in the inbox."

She watched as the Snagger opened the PDA and scanned through the e-mail, his eyebrows raising slightly. He shut the device with a snap and handed it back to her.

"It's bound to last longer if you hold onto it," he admitted to her curious look. "If Gonzap or anyone else finds it on me, they'll just destroy it again." He paused. "So they met up with Nett, huh?"

Rui nodded. "Yep. I think it's good that Nett knows what's going on. He might be able to help."

Wes nodded absently. "Did you send a reply back yet?"

"No. I wanted to wait until you saw."

"Oh." He seemed to think for a moment. "Go ahead and write back. At least let them know that we're both still alive, I guess."

"That's not funny." Rui answered reproachfully. She opened the PDA and began to type a reply. "They still want to help, you know. Can you think of anything that they could help out with right now?"

"Do you need them to check your mail?" Wes muttered wryly.

Rui rolled her eyes. "I'll tell them to just wait till something comes up."

Wes shook his head slightly. "Hopefully _nothing_ comes up."

* * *

May jolted awake as the PDA near her head began vibrating, causing Ralts to push it off the bed irritably. She sat up blearily, giving her Pokemon a friendly, gentle flick, before reaching over the side of the bed to pick the still-vibrating PDA off the floor. Brenden, she could see, was sprawled out on the other bed, still fast asleep. Somehow Manectric had gotten out and was curled up beside him. 

Turning back to the PDA in her hands, she opened the device and it ceased vibrating. A small flashing icon informed her that she had one new e-mail. Eagerly, she opened the inbox.

_May and Brenden:_

_We can't believe that you guys met our friend Nett! He's rather amazing, huh? Anyway, thanks for sending in the PDA with Ralts. We'll be sure to keep it safe so we can get in touch with you guys on a regular basis._

_We're glad that you two were safe and didn't get lost in the Under. Don't worry about not being able to find out what Shady was up to..._

_For now, we're just being held in the same cell you guys last saw us in. We're not sure what's going to happen next, so hang tight. We'll let you know as soon as we know of something you guys can help us with._

_Thank you, thank you,_ thank you _so much!!!_

_Rui and Wes._

May shut the PDA with a smile. It was obvious Rui had been the one to write the reply, but it was good to know that they were both still okay for the time being. She thought for a moment, wondering whether or not she should wake Brenden and show him the e-mail.

She decided against it, dropping back down on the bed. Not waking him meant that she could get more sleep, too. She set the PDA on the bed a few inches away in case they got another e-mail, before shutting her eyes once more.

Satisfied, Ralts shoved the PDA off the bed again and floated closer to his Trainer.

* * *

Nascour's note had been only five letters long. 

_You may proceed when ready._

Ein tapped his foot impatiently, deep in thought. He _was_ ready. All he needed was Shady to show up. It was already mid-morning; where was that damn clone?

With a sigh, he went over to check the surveillance camera screens in the back corner of his personal lab room. Shady had apparently inherited Wes's gene that characterized his tendency to be rebellious.

He was in luck. Shady was passing through the hallway just outside his lab room; only a few doors down. Ein immediately went to the door and stuck his head out into the hallway.

"You're late."

Shady stopped and turned back, a faint smirk flitting across his face. "Oh yeah. After I reported to Gonzap yesterday, he said that I was _his_ Team member, and not one of _your_ Peons. Then he ordered me not to show up."

Ein snorted. "You think that concerns me? And if Gonzap's so eager to pull rank, let me remind you that _I_ rank higher than _him_. Now get in here. You obviously have nothing better to do."

Shady seemed to shrug before following the scientist into his lab room.

"Sit." Ein pointed to a chair near the counter, before disappearing deeper into the room.

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing?" Shady demanded, but he sat down anyway. Ein had been right—he _did_ have nothing better to do...as of right now.

"Just sit," Ein called calmly. He went to the freezer and carefully lifted the test tube of the deep purple liquid he had concocted the day before, setting on the counter beside him. Then he snatched the doctor's shot he had kept nearby in waiting and carefully drew in some of the liquid.

"This had better be worth it."

"Oh, it should be," Ein answered with a brief smile to himself. He put the test tube containing the remaining purple liquid back into the freezer and then headed back to where Shady waited.

"What is—_hey_!"

Before Shady could react, Ein snatched his arm and wrenched back the sleeve of his coat, and plunged the needle of the doctor's shot into his arm. Shady tried to pull away, but Ein's grip was tight and it took only a second for the purple liquid to drain into his bloodstream.

"What the _hell_ are you _doing_?" Shady hissed, pulling his arm back when Ein released his grip. He blinked rapidly suddenly, and swayed with a small gasp. He fell backwards in the chair, eyes rolling back into his head.

"Side-effects may include shortness of breath and fainting," Ein noted dryly. He set the doctor's shot on the counter and grabbed Shady by the back of the coat and dragged him out of the chair and across the room. "Proceeding as planned, Nascour."

He dragged Shady into the large machine that covered the entire back wall of the room—the machine that turned Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon—and dropped the unconscious boy in the main compartment, before shutting and locking the hatch.

Ein calmly made his way over to the control panel of the machine, typing in commands. Then he turned to his notes—waiting as always on the counter nearby—and began writing swiftly.

There was a low hum as the machine started up.

* * *

"Have you spoken with Gonzap?" 

"Not directly."

"Ah. I see."

"I feel that you should not alert Gonzap to your plans, sir."

A pause of thoughtful silence. "You really think?"

"Yes, sir. So far everything has proceeded smoothly, as everyone is under the premise that the boy is needed because you desire him to make a special Snag for your private collection. No need to disrupt things."

"True..." There was a soft laugh. "Now this is a complex web of intentions, is it not?"

A pause of silence. "I do not know what you speak of, sir."

Another laugh. "Ah—No need to become so stotic! I know very well that my corporation employees are self-saving individuals that always put their own desires first. That's why I enjoy this so much...this game. It's entirely amusing to me...though with the prospect of gaining power, I must remain serious."

"Yes...sir..."

A soft sigh. "Go on, Nascour. You know what I expect from you."

Nascour bowed briefly. "Yes sir." He turned and glided from the wide, luxurious office, shutting the door carefully behind him.

Evice watched his top-underling go with a small, eerie smile. Nascour was so stiff sometimes; it was a wonder the man got anything done. But Evice liked his promptness and his calm, unwavering service, so he supposed that Nascour was useful.

They were all useful, anyway. In the end, they would each serve their purpose, no matter what they said or did.

Evice chuckled. He rather liked this game.

Time to proceed.

* * *

The world was foggy. "What...?" His head was killing him, and everything was swirling... 

"Shady? Are you awake?"

Suddenly everything came sharply into focus. He was lying on his back in Ein's lab. The scientist himself was looking down at him with what could be considered concern. "What...What happened...?" He sat up, putting a hand to his head.

"What can you remember?"

"I remember...You called me in here...for _something_..."

"That's all?"

"Yeah..." He slowly withdrew his hand from his head. "What happened?"

"I called you in here to discuss more of what Master Nascour said. We were in the middle of the conversation and you suddenly collapsed." Ein turned away, seemingly ready to move on. "I don't know what caused it, but other than forgetting the last few minutes before you fainted, you seem to be fine."

"Oh..."

Ein glanced back at him. "You were out for awhile. You might want to check in with your boss."

"Screw him," spat Shady with a sudden burst of anger. "I should quit his damn Team."

Ein regarded him slyly. "Then you'd be just like Wes."

"Screw you." Shady pushed himself to his feet and left, making sure to knock over a few glass vials on the way out.

Ein merely smirked. Now the fun would really begin.

* * *

...Well there you have it. 

Hated it? Liked it? Confused? Just plain indifferent?

It's okay. I warned you about the twist. Flame away. 8D


	24. Ein's Package

(weakly) ...100+ reviews and 10,000 hits, and it's only just my first little fic...?

You guys are the greatest.

**Pokemon ranger Aunie** - Hello, and thank you for reviewing. Yes, it is easy to feel a bit sorry for Shady, even though he's generally up to no good. And I hope this story has a happy ending too... (laughs)

**Blaziken'sGirl** - Hey, you're pretty good. (sweat-drop) You're about one step ahead of me—the issue of food was going to be addressed in this chapter. I'm glad you're paying attention, though! I'd imagine they're pretty hungry by now...

**Citolim** - No, I don't think it's possible to Snag a human, but I am very glad that you love this fic. 8D

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Happy—belated—Easter to you too (oops)! And if you're still confused, than this chapter might clear a little bit of it up. At least...I hope it does... 8D

**TwinTrouble** - "What the hell is going on?" is a very good question. (laughs) Sorry for the slightly delayed update, but here's the next chapter and hopefully you'll still be interested!

Anonymous- I liked your "dot-dot-dot" name you put down, but Fanfiction will just not allow them to stay by themselves whenever I tried to type them up for this reply. Heh. Hopefully your confusion will be cleared somewhat as you continue to read.

**DigitalXover-girl** - Thanks! And don't worry, you don't sound too creepy—feel free to ask away. Of course, I can't always promise a straightforward answer. 8D And to answer your question: Maybe...maybe not...

**Rikkun** - You'll find that out when you read the note to Nascour, which is consequently at the beginning of this chapter! 8D

**Lang Noi** - Hello there! I do faintly remember what happens to Fein in that series, though I haven't read them since I put them into my favorites list, so it's been quite awhile. If memory serves me, he does indeed die. I see what you mean when you say that Shady and Fein are similar, but I must point out that while Fein was merely a Cipher Peon dressed to look like Wes, Shady really _is_ Wes—a clone (though I'm sure you know this already). Hopefully by the end of this story, there will be some greater differences between the two.

Thanks for the compliment on my "foreshadowing skills"! (sweat-drop) I try, I really do...

And as to how Evice and the rest of the Cipher-people escaped, they were gone from the jailhouse by the beginning of Pokemon Colosseum XD, so I'm not quite sure. I do remember that you run into Miror B. a lot in that game, so maybe he danced his way out and the rest of them followed. 8D

**Sukoru** - It's good that you're still interested after that last crazy chapter! (laughs) And your cookie was quite delicious. 8D

**SkyMaster** - Your flaming ball (of doom) burned up my first copy of this chapter, so that's why it's so late in coming out. And I'm still cleaning up the ashes around here. 8D Haha.

**Wings of the Wolf** - Huzzah, you're caught up! Yeah, this story does run a bit fast, but I don't suppose it's too bad. Having a bad feeling about what happened to Shady is probably very wise. And it's probably all that and more...

**super-rat** - Romance probably won't come in for awhile...(shrug) But who really knows. And as for a goal, I do try to set one each time, but we all know how life happens. 8D

A lot of you reviewed this time! I might have to resort to replying the "private" way...I'm more used to five or six reviews per chapter average, so this is pretty amazing. Thank you all!

This chapter is a bit longer, so please enjoy. I hope some of your confusion is cleared, but of course there are no guarantees...

Onward.

* * *

_Master Nascour—_

_Subject testing has been successful. _

_Before placed inside the Shadow Pokemon Converter Machine, subject was given a shot of Pokemon blood platelets made safe for human blood. This was vital and necessary because in order for the SPCM to function properly, Pokemon DNA needed to be recognized._

_Side-effects of the shot included shortness of breath and fainting. This, in turn, was useful._

_A blood test conducted after the subject had gone through the SPCM proved that the Pokemon blood platelets had been accepted and are now in fact shadow._

_Subject regained consciousness soon after, and now observations shall begin. A detailed report of all observations will be sent as soon as complied._

_Subject remains oblivious._

_Chief Scientist Ein - Shadow Pokemon Lab Headquarters_

* * *

After sending the e-mail out to May and Brenden, Rui carefully put the PDA away safely. She would hold onto it for Wes, just like he had asked her to. 

"I sent it," she informed him as she tucked the device into her pocket.

He glanced up at her briefly. "Okay." He was in the middle of teasing Umbreon with a string he had somehow produced from a pocket, keeping the energized Pokemon amused. Espeon watched calmly as Umbreon rolled wildly, sitting still next to his master.

"I—" Rui stopped as her stomach gave a low growl. Embarrassed, she looked quickly back to Wes. Had he heard?

Wes stopped what he was doing and looked up to meet her eyes, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Oh," Rui stammered with a weak grin. To her horror, she had a feeling that she was blushing slightly. "Was it really that loud?"

"Why didn't you say anything before?" He didn't sound annoyed or accusing, but he had folded his arms loosely. Espeon had focused his calm gaze on her, and Umbreon had even stopped wrestling with the string to blink up at her curiously.

"Um...I didn't think it was that big of a deal...?"

Wes sighed softly. He was used to going for extended periods without food, but Rui wasn't. He had been a bit preoccupied lately, so he had forgotten. "It _is _a big deal, Rui. You've got to be starving by now...Don't you feel...funny?"

She considered him for a moment thoughtfully. "I feel kind of weak," she admitted brightly, "but it's not like I'm going to pass out, right?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You will sooner or later if you keep this up. Why didn't you _say_ anything?"

"I didn't want you to worry about me." She looked perfectly serious. "You have enough on your mind right now without having to worry about the likes of me."

Wes remained silent for a moment. It was true—he _had_ been a little distracted. Plus he himself was used to not eating for a few days; even now, he wasn't hungry. But that was no excuse to be selfish.

"The next time someone comes in here, we're demanding food," he said flatly.

Rui gave her first big, bright smile in a long time. "Okay."

Wes merely shook his head slightly, amazed that she had hid her hunger for so long. He had a feeling that maybe it would be wiser from now on for both of them to be a little more honest with each other—it wasn't like he hadn't hidden things from her...

He turned back to continue teasing Umbreon with the string. It was slightly easier to concentrate on that rather than everything else.

* * *

When May woke again, feeling much more refreshed than before, Brenden was already awake. 

"Hi May." He glanced over at her from his spot on the other bed, stretched out on his stomach watching the TV on low volume with Manectric and Ralts.

She yawned, grinning as Ralts floated over to greet her. "Hi."

"I found this on the floor, halfway under the bed." Brenden held up the PDA Nett had given them, his eyebrows raised. "We probably shouldn't be throwing this thing around, you know."

"I didn't do it," May protested, sitting up indignantly. She looked accusingly at Ralts. "I bet it was _you_."

Ralts seemed to grin.

"I saw the e-mail Rui sent back, though." Brenden handed the PDA back to May, sitting up as well and switching off the TV. "So I guess now we have some spare time."

"You saw it? Good." May took back the PDA. "And yeah, I guess we do." She paused. "I mean, now we have time to actually act like we're on vacation, but now I'll just feel guilty. Wes and Rui are in it deep back in that lab...I can't just go out and enjoy myself as if everything were fine..."

"Me neither," agreed Brenden. He managed a faint grin. "But I could also see Wes calling us idiots for wasting our vacation."

May laughed. "Yeah."

"Tell you what," Brenden continued, "Let's just stick to Phenac today and just walk around a little. We have to have some sort of souvenirs to give our parents to they believe us when we tell them that Orre was relatively boring."

May grinned. "Right." She looked down at her Ralts. "All right, you. Back into the Pokeball. If you behave, I'll buy you a treat."

"Raa," agreed with little green Pokemon. He allowed his Trainer to recall him back into the Pokeball without complaint.

"You too, Manectric." Brenden recalled the Discharge Pokemon as well. "Are you ready to go, May?"

"Yeah, just let me fix my hair."

Brenden rolled his eyes. "I'll be waiting down in the lobby." He left the hotel room, disappearing out into the narrow hall and shutting the door behind himself with a snap.

May shook her head, digging through her bag to find her brush.

* * *

Gonzap was reclined back in his chair when Shady burst into the room, looking murderous. Not too bad, he supposed. He had only e-mailed the kid a minute or so a go. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked with a laugh.

"_Nothing_," Shady spat, glaring at him. His temper seemed to be particularly nasty today. "What do you want?"

Gonzap grinned widely. "I want you to take a gang of Grunts and go into Phenac. Ein says he's got a shipment in from Kanto, and he needs someone to go pick it up."

"Why do _I _have to go? Surely your Grunts can manage a walk through Phenac."

"You're going because _I _say so."

"No, I'm going because_ you_ don't want to." Shady snapped, glaring at his boss. "Ein told _you_ to get it for him, didn't he?"

Gonzap's grin faded and was replaced by a scowl just as murderous as Shady's. "Get going now!" he roared, no longer reclining lazily. "And Wes is going with you!"

That stopped Shady for a moment, and he blinked.

"_Why_?" he demanded at last, slightly taken aback. "Are you crazy? He'll just make a break for it, and then I'll shoot him. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of your stupid little revenge-plan?"

"No he won't," Gonzap answered smugly, "because I'll have his little girlfriend to make sure he behaves."

Shady glared at him again. "I still don't see what purpose it serves for _him_ to come."

Gonzap merely grinned. "Because Ein told me to bring him along if _I _had been going, but instead _you're_ going. Now get going, before I shoot you."

* * *

Rui jumped when Shady entered the room, looking ready to kill something. Nervously, she bit her lower lip. She hoped fervently that it wouldn't be Wes. 

"I want to see Gonzap." Wes spoke flatly before anything could be said, surprising Rui. At his feet, Espeon and Umbreon each growled softly.

"I don't care. Put those back in their Pokeballs and get out here." Shady's voice was controlled despite his murderous appearance. Rui blinked. Something was different about him. "We're going to Phenac."

"Gonzap first." Wes held his ground. Rui wished he wouldn't—he had more of a chance of getting beat up than being led to Gonzap. And she would rather see him unhurt than anything else.

"I will kill them." Shady nodded to Espeon and Umbreon. He opened the door to the cell.

Wes's finger twitched and suddenly Espeon and Umbreon had disappeared back into their Pokeballs in a flash of red. "We're hungry, Shady. Is this the grand revenge plan of Cipher and Team Snagem? Death by starvation?"

"You certainly can talk a lot for someone who's supposedly starving," Shady hissed through gritted teeth.

Rui automatically took a step back, even though she was already behind Wes. There was something very wrong with Shady's aura, but both boys seemed unaware of it.

"When you're eager to talk your way into getting some food, you'll talk," Wes answered calmly. "I mean, I'm even willing to go beg from _Gonzap_."

"I'll shoot her." Shady's eyes locked onto Rui, and she tried not to whimper. His aura...

"Will you?" Wes's voice was low and soft. "Can you?"

"Yes." Shady looked furious at having his resolve questioned.

"Oh, I'm sure you could and would," Wes continued, still holding steady, "I'm not questioning your will to kill. But if you kill her now...What happens to me?"

Shady paused, and Rui was relieved to see that he was actually considering it.

Wes remained silent. This was a very precarious balance he had just thrown himself into. He knew that Shady was well aware that if he killed Rui, Wes wouldn't see the purpose of sticking around to endure whatever torture Gonzap or the Cipher Admins cooked up, and would probably kill himself. While Shady would probably enjoy that, it would get him into a load of trouble with his many superiors...

But Wes also knew that Shady might have finally reached his breaking point—he certainly seemed to be having a rough day, judging by the temper—and just might decide to kill them both. Shady was capable of it. He hadn't drawn the gun yet, but Wes was willing to bet Espeon and Umbreon that it was there.

"If I take you to Gonzap, you're not going to make a scene in Phenac." Shady said at last. It was not a question.

"No scenes," Wes assured him, hiding his relief. That had been risky. "Here or in Phenac."

Shady remained silent, still considering. Now that his eyes had left her, Rui dared to study him again. Suddenly she caught a flicker of a very familiar aura around him, and her eyes widened as she stopped herself from gasping.

Flickering around Shady was the unmistakable aura of a Shadow Pokemon.

"Fine." As Shady glared at Wes, Rui watched nervously as the aura flared, growing slightly before dying off. "Move." He suddenly had his handgun pointed at Wes, drawing it out from his coat pocket.

Wes stepped forward out of the cell and allowed Shady to shut and relock the door behind him, leaving Rui stuck inside. Shady made a tiny motion with his gun and Wes started forward, and the two stepped out into the hallway, disappearing from view.

"That can't be good," Rui whispered to herself. She felt very confused. Was it possible for Shady to be like a Shadow Pokemon? Had Ein somehow done something to him, so that he now had the same qualities as a Pokemon with its heart shut tight? But Shady wasn't a Pokemon...

She wished she had some way to tell Wes. He would know what to do.

Wait. Shady had said that they were going to Phenac. May and Brenden were staying in Phenac; that was where their hotel was. And if Shady and Wes were going to Phenac...

Quickly, Rui pulled out the PDA hidden in her pocket and began to type.

* * *

The walk through the lab to Gonzap's office was silent. Wes didn't bother to turn around; he already knew what he'd see—Shady right behind him, still holding his gun. 

"I'll be out here," snapped Shady, stopping when they reached the door to Gonzap's room. He leaned against the wall, arms folded; the picture of annoyance.

Wes didn't answer, instead slipping inside the office, readying himself. This was going to be...interesting...

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Gonzap demanded at once. Luckily, the Snagem Boss was still at his overly-large desk, most likely playing Solitaire on the computer.

"Shady and I made an agreement, so he let me come," Wes answered, keeping his voice level. By himself, Gonzap was like an entire pack of angry Mightyena: show any signs of fear, and you'd have your throat ripped out before you could blink.

"An agreement? Bullshit."

Wes shrugged slightly, though he stayed where he was. If Gonzap decided to come after him, there was a desk and half the room between them, and door was right behind him. "I told him I'd behave in Phenac if he let me come talk to you first."

"Cute," Gonzap sneered, though fortunately he still made no move to get up. "So, Wes, what do you need to _talk _to me about?"

"Seeing as how you need to keep me alive for whatever revenge you all wish to carry out, wouldn't make sense to feed myself and Rui at least semi-regularly? It's not like we can go take our own lunch breaks like the rest of the Grunts."

Gonzap remained silent for a full minute. Wes waited patiently. His boss was just working everything out, weighing the pros and cons, just like Shady had.

"Fine. I'll get someone to bring food to you once in awhile," Gonzap said gruffly at last. It was obvious it pained him to say so.

"Will you feed Rui while I'm in Phenac?" Wes asked, keeping his voice extremely mellow and polite. "I'm used to being half-starved, but she isn't."

Gonzap glowered at him. "Not till you get back, and I hear from Shady that you were perfect and that there weren't any _mishaps_."

"Alright." Wes gave his boss a slight nod. He knew Gonzap couldn't be swayed any further; he was lucky enough anyway that the discussion had gone so smoothly. He gritted his teeth for the last part. "Thank you."

"Just get going!" Gonzap roared, his already thin patience running out.

Wes backed out of the room and shut the door, relieved. Shady glanced up at him, still leaned against the wall. He looked mildly surprised to see Wes back in once piece, but said nothing; merely straightening and starting off down the hall. Wes followed him, wondering why exactly he needed to accompany his twisted clone to Phenac.

Of course, he didn't dare ask.

* * *

"Orre Trainers have such interesting battle styles," remarked Brenden as he and May flooded out of the Phenac Colosseum with the rest of the crowd that had attended the noon round of knock-out battles. "Too bad they don't have a Gym and Elite Four plus Champion here." 

"There's the pre-Gym." May answered with a shrug. Though she had enjoyed the battles just as much as her companion had, she was more interested in Contests, which Orre lacked.

"I don't think so," Brenden scoffed, "I'd have such a huge advantage it'd be unfair, at a _pre_-Gym."

"Then I think you should just be satisfied as _only_ being the Champion of Hoenn," May replied dryly. She checked the time. "Well it's a little past lunchtime. Wanna eat?"

"Sure," Brenden agreed as they headed down the grand white steps of the Colosseum.

"Then we had better go buy some of those souvenirs you mentioned," May added with a grin. She stopped suddenly, feeling something vibrating wildly in her pocket. "Hey, the PDA is going off." She pulled out the device and opened it. Brenden moved to where he could look as well, and together they read the e-mail they had just received.

_May and Brenden—_

_Shady just came in and took Wes with him, and they're headed for Phenac. You guys are there, so can you make sure nothing bad happens? I don't know what they're supposed to be doing._

_And please be _very_ careful._

_Thanks,_

_Rui._

"I guess lunch can come after," May said, looking up at Brenden. "We'd better head for the entrance to town so we don't miss them."

Brenden nodded. "Tell her we're on it." He grinned ruefully. "Back in business."

May nodded absently, already typing a reply. She sent it, and then announced, "Okay, let's go!" She slipped the PDA back into her pocket and took off through the city, Brenden following close behind her.

Neither of them noticed the Xatu perched on one of the roofs of the buildings, watching them with one eerie eye. It was to be expected, of course. They were only Hoenn Trainers, after all.

And even if they had seen the tall, thin bird Pokemon, they wouldn't have realized what that Xatu, with its incredibly high level, really meant.

* * *

When they arrived at the entrance to Phenac, Shady immediately started for the shadowy alleys. Wes followed him, along with five Grunts that Shady had ordered to come. They were all practically breathing down Wes's neck, but he wasn't too concerned—they wouldn't attack until given the orders, even if they did hate him for driving their Boss off the deep-end by blowing up the Hideout. 

"What exactly are we doing, and why did I have to come?" Wes asked at last in a low voice as they stopped once they were deep enough in the network of alleys. It had been bothering him since Shady had ordered him to accompany the "team" to the city, but he hadn't dared to ask until now.

"Because Ein wanted you to come," snapped Shady. He chose another side-street, and they ended up on one of the main streets. Shady's temper had gone steadily downhill as the group had come closer and closer to Phenac. Now that they had arrived, he seemed to have cooled off a little, but still...

Wes decided to leave it at that, and not to ask again.

* * *

"There they go," whispered May, peering around a dumpster in the dimly lit alley. "They're out of the alley and onto the main street." 

"It'll be easier to follow them in the crowd." Brenden was right behind her. He found it extremely ironic that they were near the spot where they had first been attacked by Team Snagem, on the very first day he and May had arrived in Orre and had met Wes and Rui. "Go ahead."

"Right." May started forward, and Brenden wasn't far behind.

Like May had said, they were suddenly back out in the bright sun, blinking rapidly as they hurried after the suspicious-looking group. They had managed to follow the seven after watching them arrive at the entrance of Phenac, and this time they hadn't been caught by Shady.

Yet, thought Brenden grimly.

"What do you think they're up to?" May asked in a low voice, despite their being surrounded by a crowd on the busy street.

"I couldn't guess," Brenden answered truthfully. "But I want to know why they brought Wes along."

"Me too," agreed May. She looked determined. "This time, we'll find out for Rui."

* * *

Shady led the group all the way to the west side of Phenac, which was literally the only rundown part of the city. While all other districts had been cleaned up and renewed for Orre's suddenly booming tourism, the west side had remained untouched and left as it had been. 

"Don't tell me this is one of _those_ runs," Wes muttered automatically with a hint of annoyance. As soon as Shady had started heading westward, he had begun to guess.

"It is," muttered one of the Grunts, who had overheard him. "We're the pickup and delivery boys."

"What are we doing again?" mumbled a second Grunt.

"Ein has a shipment in from Kanto," Shady growled, his temper flaring again. "We're supposed to get it and bring it back to the lab."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Wes decided to throw caution to the wind and tried to ask again.

"You ain't a Snagger no more," another Grunt added with a nasty grin, "so welcome back to Grunt work."

"You idiot, haven't you heard?" A third Grunt interrupted. "Master Evice wants him to make a Snag, so that makes him a Snagger!"

"No it doesn't—"

"All of you shut up before I kill you all!" Shady hissed, rounding on them. The Grunts shut their mouths immediately, while Wes wished he had some form of pain killer. He had—blissfully—forgotten how dim-witted and annoying Grunts were.

The place where Ein's shipment had come in was a shifty little joint, going along with the rundown theme of the west side of Phenac. Wes recognized the place and remembered it well; it had come here many a time when he had been a brand-new member of Team Snagem. It was just a junky sort of shop, but Gonzap had connections with the owner.

"You wait out here," Shady ordered tersely as they stopped outside, looking at the five Grunts. His icy gaze snapped to Wes. "You come with me."

Wes followed his look-alike obediently into the grungy building while the Grunts waited outside on the street corner, holding a muttered conversation. Inside, the shop was messy and everything had a thick coat of dust and grime. The store's stock was so varied—so random—that it was impossible to glance over the shelves and see what they held with just one glance.

The owner of the shop was behind the counter, as always. He was a stooped little man with a balding head and a toothless mouth. Wes barely remembered him—whenever he had had to come here as a Grunt, he had always been with Gonzap and hadn't been tall enough to see over the counter—but did recall that the man's memory had been...patchy...at best.

"Oh, it's you!" Apparently, a few of his memory cells were working today, and as Wes and Shady approached the counter, the old man gave a toothless smile. "Look at you, you're all big and grown up now! I remember when you were only this tall—"

"We have an order that came in," interrupted Shady icily.

"Ah yes." He looked over Shady, slightly confused. "I don't remember you having a brother."

"We're _not_ brothers," Shady hissed, "Just shut _up_ and get our damn package!"

"Alright, alright; hold on to yer Ponytas." He disappeared into the back room, grumbling something about youth.

Wes resisted the urge to sigh, knowing Shady would only round on him. Something must have set his clone off earlier enough to really piss him off, because this was the nastiest Wes had seen him yet.

The stooped man returned, holding a small box that had been carefully labeled. "Give Gonzap my best," he said in his gruff voice, handing the package to Wes. "Terrible thing, to have the old Hideout blown up."

Shady sent Wes a glare that would have made the desert seem cold, and snatched the box from him before heading out of the store. Wes followed after him, not wanting to have to answer the question he knew would come next.

"You find the one who did it and give 'em a good beating!" called the store owner with a cackle as Wes left the shop.

"He's already getting it," he mumbled under his breath as he caught up with Shady and the Grunts. "He's getting it good."

* * *

"This part of town is strange," May whispered, looking around. "This isn't like the other district at all. It's more like Pyrite, kind of." 

"This was probably how the whole town used to be," Brenden answered with a slight shrug, his eyes never leaving the Team Snagem Grunts gathered outside the shop Wes and Shady had disappeared into. "But most of it got shined up for all the tourists."

"Yeah." May continued to look around curiously. "So, um, why do you think they went inside that junk shop?"

"No idea."

"I mean, what could they possibly _need_ from there?" May looked back to the Grunts, skeptical. "They have that whole hi-tech lab out there in the desert, but they come to Phenac to visit a junk shop?"

"Maybe this isn't their only stop."

"Yeah, but still..."

"I know what you mean."

"Look, there's Shady and Wes." May peered past Brenden intently.

Sure enough, first a red coat and then a blue coat appeared from the shop's entrance, rejoining the group of Grunts. There was a brief conversation, and then the group started off with Shady in the lead, coming down the street, straight for May and Brenden.

"May, get back!" Brenden pulled his companion into the nearest shop, hoping that this wasn't going to be Shady's next stop.

Holding their breath, the two Hoenn Trainers watched through the window as the group passed the shop by without sparing a glance. Shady looked extremely annoyed, and Wes's face was perfectly blank of expression. The Grunts followed, one of them carrying a small box.

"What do you think is in that box?" asked May as they let out their breath in relief. They waited a few moments before stepping back out onto the street.

"I don't know," admitted Brenden. "This is all very strange."

A Xatu dove down from the sky with one of its strange cries, beating its wide, outstretched wings wildly. May shrieked and Brenden let out a yell as the Pokemon knocked into them both, sending them sprawling. Brenden was dimly aware of Shady, Wes, and the Grunts, who were halfway down the street, turning and looking back to see what was happening.

But then the Xatu gave another strange squawk, and the two Hoenn Trainers disappeared in a bright flash of white.

* * *

Color drained from his face as he watched May and Brenden disappear along with the Xatu. He knew that Xatu. 

...It was not a nice Xatu.

Behind him, Shady gave a low laugh. "Now I see why Ein wanted you to come along, Wes."

Wes didn't answer. Rui must have e-mailed May and Brenden after he had left with Shady, asking them to see what was going on...

...Leading them right into a trap.

"Come on. We're going back to the lab." Shady turned and started off again.

Wes had no choice but to follow him when one of the Grunts gave him a good shove.

* * *

Ein studied the label on the box carefully before opening it and peering inside. Then he set the half-opened box on the counter. "That's it," he confirmed, giving the group a nod, "Now get out of my lab." 

The Grunts left quickly; most all of them were afraid of the "mad scientist" Ein.

"Oh yes. Shady, Gonzap says that after you put him back in the cells, you have to get him and the girl food." Ein glanced briefly at Wes, before turning away and picking up his box and disappearing deeper into the lab room.

"You do it," Shady snarled to the last Grunt, pushing past him.

The Grunt looked back at Wes. "Well come on." He looked as if he thought he suddenly had the most important task in the building.

Wes followed him wearily back to the cell room. He had a lot of explaining to do to Rui.

Whatever food the Grunt brought them had better be good, dammit.

* * *

...I gave the machine that turned all the Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon a name. o.O I don't remember it having an exact name in the games, so if it does, please correct me. (weak laugh) 

So what's in Ein's package? We shall have to see...

Hmm...Before you ask, no, the Xatu is _not_ a Shadow Pokemon. If you beat the first Colosseum game, you might be able to guess who the Xatu belongs to, but if not, don't worry—it will be revealed.

...In the next chapter. 8D


	25. Shrouded In Shadow

I had this chapter almost done once or twice, but it never quite satisfied me, so I completely tore it up and started over. Sorry for the delay!

To my reviewers...

**Wings of the Wolf** - Yes, I suppose Umbreon is the (only?) comic relief of this story...Good for him, right? Heh. I'm actually glad that you weren't expecting the trap...Sometimes the story just seems to be a little to predictable to the author, you know? Thanks for continuing to review.

dot dot dot - My apologies for making you wait...May your confusion continue to lift. Heh.

**Pokemon ranger Aunie** - Ah, the evilness of Shady. Hah. Basically all of your questions are answered in this chapter, so read and enjoy. And I'm going to have to agree with you on that: Wes is definitely going to need some therapy. Or perhaps a really long vacation.

**QUEEN EEVEE** - Good guess! Glad I'm not the only one who pays attention to the finer details of the game. And Wes and Rui will have a hard time trying to piece everything together as well...Think you can beat them? I bet you can. Good luck!

**DigitalXover-girl** - Yes...but let's not get too caught up in the details, now...It'd be pretty strange if I described everyone having to go to the bathroom all the time (like normal people), too. Besides. No one ever eats or makes pit stops in the games. o.O It always makes me wonder...Hah. Only kidding.

**Twanny Boy** - Don't worry about not reviewing every chapter...Just drop by everyone once in awhile or something. Heh. Thanks!

**Rikkun** - It's understandable to get their Pokemon mixed up...I mean, there you are thinking that you've beaten the game (unless you have a guide or something) and then Es Cade walks up and turns into a little man who bounces up and down and is now named Evice. o.O Terrifying. Haha. But no, May and Brenden are not catching any kind of break at all...especially in this chapter.

**Blaziken'sGirl** - Like what I said to _DigitalXover-girl_...let's not get too caught up in the details, now...It'd be pretty strange if I described everyone having to go to the bathroom all the time (like normal people), too. Besides. No one ever eats or makes pit stops in the games. o.O Haha.

**DragonGirl** - I know that you hate waiting...and I'm sorry to make you wait so long...I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**SkyMaster** - Well I really have nothing to say to you...Except perhaps that all your reviews seem to be the same? Hah...

**Sukoru** - Yes, you were right! Haha. And don't worry about the Xatu; you'll find out once you read this chapter. And I don't mind that I have to "put up with" your reviews. Trust me, I enjoy them very much, so thank you!

**Dark Angel of the Underworld **- Updated at last. Sorry for the delay!

...I definitely need to get my act together for all of you guys. But school's almost out and I'll have all summer to come up with the next few chapters. Shall I be so bold as to say that the end is slowly coming into sight? Hah.

This chapter is shorter than the last (for those of you who care enough to be counting?), but I've said all I need to say for this part of the story. Heh heh.

Onward.

* * *

Wes watched as Rui practically inhaled the food they had been brought a good hour after he had been shoved back into the cell. It was just fast food of some kind, but he knew Rui was probably hungry enough to eat anything despite her usual efforts to eat only healthy foods. 

"Take mine." He pushed his bag of greasy food towards her. He had lost all appetite after what had happened to May and Brenden had really sunken in. He didn't want to break it to Rui yet; he wanted her to eat first before…

…Before she became very, very upset.

She had just finished with her meal, and she looked up at him and blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You know me. I'm never hungry." It was true, but he hoped he sounded convincing. "Besides, who knows when they'll remember to feed us again."

Rui looked as if she would like to argue with him and try to get him to eat, but something in his expression must have put her off; she took the bag from him and, much more slowly this time, began to munch on the fries.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, concerned. "You don't look so good..."

"Oh. Shady and the Grunts gave me a headache." It was becoming much too easy to lie. It was a half-lie, he argued half-heartedly with himself silently. The Grunts _had_ been annoying…

Rui's expression flickered briefly at the mention of Shady, but she turned quickly back to her meal. "So what did you do in Phenac?" she asked carefully, keeping her eyes on the bag. "It seemed awfully important if Shady had to drag you along."

"We just had to pick up a package of some kind for Ein. Grunt work."

She looked at him, slightly confused. "Why'd they drag you along if it was only Grunt work like that?"

"Because…" He took a deep breath. "Rui...Did you e-mail May and Brenden and ask them to follow me in Phenac?" He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

"Um...Yes." She looked slightly guilty. "I did. But I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you..."

"It's okay. It's just that..." He hesitated, unsure of how to put it.

Rui looked up at him, suddenly worried; his voice had changed so suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"They brought me along because they somehow knew that May and Brenden would show up too—someone knows that you have a PDA. But Nascour's Xatu was waiting for them." Wes hadn't kept eye-contact with Rui up until now. He made himself look up into her worried blue eyes. "It took them."

* * *

May was still screaming when she hit the ground hard, and her scream turned abruptly into a cry of pain. Brenden landed somewhere beside her with a sharp cough. The Xatu gave one last shrill squawk before flapping away from them to perch on the edge of a large desk, folding its strangely-patterned wings carefully. 

"Brenden, are you okay?" May whispered as she pushed herself to her knees. For some reason, whispering seemed like a better idea than a normal voice-level. "Brenden?"

"I think that stupid bird broke my ribs..." Brenden moaned, curled up tight as if to protect himself from further damage.

May sat back on her knees, relieved; she could tell he was only being dramatic. "Oh. You're okay then."

Brenden sat up, straightening his sweat-band, which had slipped down his forehead slightly. "Thanks for your concern."

"So." An icily calm voice broke in. "You're the brats from Hoenn that my subordinates have been complaining about?"

May looked up fully to see a tall man standing near the Xatu, smoothing down its lime green feathers absently as he surveyed them with flinty gray eyes. "Who are you?" she demanded. "And is that _your_ Pokémon? It's illegal to attack people with Pokémon."

The man laughed, and it was mirthless and clipped, throwing May off a bit. "My dear, in Orre, there is no such thing as _illegal_. Just ask your little playmate Wes. You are _friends_ with him, correct?" He used the word "friends" mockingly, as if he doubted it.

"Yeah there is," Brenden shot back, "but a lot of you Orre people just do all the illegal stuff anyway, so to you it probably doesn't matter."

"Who are you?" repeated May, though there was a slight falter in her voice. Something about the man before them made every nerve in her body freeze—she didn't like him at all.

"I could ask the same of you," he pointed out calmly. He had a certain air of superiority; he seemed to consider himself well above them. "Foreigners were never welcome in Orre, and they never will be: what gives you two the right to stick your noses into our affairs?"

"Because Wes _is_ our friend," Brenden snapped, "and Rui too. We're not just going to sit back while our friends disappear just because we're not from here."

"Yeah," May added, emboldened a little by Brenden. "I'm one of Hoenn's Top Coordinators and he's the Champion of the League, so know who you're dealing with here. We _will_ help our friends."

The man merely gave another one of his mirthless laughs. "I don't care who you are. But you are intruding on my—Cipher's—business and we cannot afford any loose rats running around, especially with what happened the _last_ time." 

He means Wes and Rui, Brenden thought in the back of his mind briefly. Aloud, he said, "You're Nascour, aren't you? Wes and Rui told us about_ you_."

"Correct. But my name hardly matters to you." Nascour's glance flickered to the Xatu. "Hypnosis."

The Xatu spread its wings wide. Both Brenden and May had seen the attack Hypnosis before; it was nothing new to them. But what _was_ new was how they both slumped to the floor and the world flickered out of view as the attack hit them; both deeply asleep.

* * *

Ein surveyed the contents of his package once more, shaking his head slightly. It was merely a Master Ball from Sliph Co. in Kanto. Evice must have spent millions in order to get the famous company to send one of its greatest inventions over; just so the other Admins would be fooled into thinking that he really did want Wes to make him a Snag. It was all one great, big, fabricated lie. 

...The truth was that he would have been the same, had not Nascour come to him with a plot of his own.

Oh well. Perhaps when he had spare time he could pick the Master Ball apart and learn its mechanisms, and reproduce it millions of times over. Then all he had to do was sell them at the price of a regular old Ultra Ball; maybe a little bit more expensive. _That_ ought to make Sliph Co. gag on one of their Sliph Scopes, he thought, briefly amused.

The door to his lab room opened, and Ein pushed the package back on the counter absently, only so that it wouldn't take up too much of his counter-space. Then he turned to see who entered.

"Ah. Welcome." He remained seated.

One of Nascour's personal Peons entered the room, waiting for the door to slide shut before speaking. "Master Ein." He gave a brief, jerky bow. "I am to tell you that Master Nascour was successful in capturing the Hoenn intruders."

"Am I to take one of them for tests?" Ein asked, slightly eager. He was a scientist; he loved to experiment.

"Master Nascour assures you that one of them will be yours in the near future." The Peon paused. "He wishes to know more of the boy Shady."

"He seems to be doing just fine," Ein replied, "I was going to call him in here later and run some tests to see how his new Shadow-properties are holding up."

"Master Nascour looks forward to hearing the results of the tests. He wishes to remind you that not even a hint of this must get out. Evice has suspicions."

Ein's eyebrows rose slightly. "What kind of suspicions does he have, exactly?"

"I am not sure exactly, Master Ein. But Master Nascour was clear on this subject."

"So let's not give Evice reason to suspect further." Ein looked thoughtful.

"Yes, Master Ein." The Peon nodded stiffly. "If you will excuse me, I shall take my leave. I must go question Master Gonzap. Evice wishes to know how the newest recruit is doing now that he's back on Team Snagem, and Master Nascour wishes me to make a report."

"Wes?" Ein asked absently. "Oh, how I would love to use him..." Shady was only a clone; Wes was the real thing. There was no telling what kind of different reactions he could prod from the both of them. Just speculating about it made Ein's scientifically-orientated imagination almost get away from him.

"Master Nascour reminds you of the virtue of patience."

"Of course." Ein came out of thought abruptly. "Send word when I can have one of the Hoenn brats. I'd like another subject soon so I can compare results."

"Of course, Master Ein." The Peon bowed once more and then left.

Ein twisted in his chair, shutting his eyes briefly as he thought. As soon as he received permission to use either one of the Hoenn Trainers or Wes...

He snatched the speaker to the intercom of the lab. "Shady, get in here."

* * *

Rui traced her finger slowly across the floor of the cell, still left in shocked silence. It was all her fault—even though Wes had been trying to convince her otherwise—that May and Brenden had been captured by Nascour. Her eyes were slightly watery with unshed tears, and the silence in the room was heavy. 

Wes had tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault at all, but after a very uncharacteristic lack of response from the normally optimistic red-head, he had given up, sensing that she was a bit beyond comforting at the moment and had quietly gone to the other end of their cell to give her time and space to think. She could see him slumped against the wall, eyes shut; but whether he was really asleep or not was another story.

She felt absolutely horrible that she had—unknowingly or not—lured May and Brenden into a trap. Now they were at the mercy of Nascour…who had no mercy to begin with. She was afraid for them, she was afraid for Wes, and she was afraid for herself. This already tangled mess of events was steadily getting worse.

"Wes?" Her voice sounded small and weak in the heavy silence.

One golden eye cracked open to look at her in response. He was listening.

"There's something I have to tell you about Shady." Rui watched the other eye open as well, blinking wearily. "It might sound strange at first, but I know what I saw and you have to believe me. Okay?" By the end of her request, she almost sounded desperate.

"I believe you, Rui." He had opened both eyes, and they were trained on her unblinkingly; golden wells of calm.

It was Rui's turn to take a deep breath. "Shady has been turned Shadow."

* * *

Dakim, Venus, and Miror B. crowded around Ein's counter, each of them eyeing the half-open package while trying to seem as if they weren't interested in it at all. Ein let them simmer like that for a few silent minutes. He needed a good two or three minutes of observing idiots in their natural state. 

"What's in the package, Ein?" Venus asked at last, batting her eyelashes in what she must have considered a seductive way.

He had figured that she would be the first to ask. "The very tool we need in order to complete our mission for Master Evice," he answered easily. "I'm sure you've all heard rumors that Evice desires Wes to make a special Snag for him before carrying out _full _revenge."

Something about the way Ein had said "full revenge" made Miror B. give a tiny shudder, though he wasn't exactly sure why. He breezily passed it off as excitement, but he wasn't even close to fooling himself.

…Ein was getting to be downright creepy.

"The rumors are true." Ein produced a genuine Master Ball from the little package, causing Venus to giggle and clap her hands, and Dakim give a gruff snort. "Master Evice has generously gone through the trouble of purchasing a Master Ball for the Snag—just like the one Wes used to Snag the Shadow Tyrannitar."

"So we have our materials." Dakim's deep voice sounded as if he were in the process of puzzling things out. "The kid, the Snag Machine, and the Master Ball."

"All that's left is the who, what, when, and where!" Venus giggled. "Are we going to be able to watch Wes's last Snag? He's so cute when he gets all serious!"

No wonder you lost your Suicune to him so easily. "Master Evice has yet to inform us of the formal details, but I expect you all to be standing by." Ein gave Venus a brief distasteful look. "We can hand Wes the Master Ball, but that will not completely ensure victory. He must make a successful Snag no matter what, and it will be our job, as Admins, to make sure of that."

The three other Cipher Admins each nodded, looking serious.

"We'll meet again when Master Evice has disclosed the finer details of the Snag."

Ein watched them leave, shaking his head slightly. Fools. They were all fools.

* * *

"Ein must have figured out a way to put a person in that machine," Rui finished, watching Wes anxiously, "to turn them Shadow." 

"It has to be fairly recent, though." Wes was beyond shock over anything by about now. Shady being turned Shadow like some kind of Pokemon was just another obstacle Cipher was throwing at him—it made no difference anymore. "Or you would have noticed it right away."

Rui nodded. From her viewpoint, Wes was taking all of this rather well. "Right. The first time I ever noticed was when he came in and made you go with him to Phenac. The aura of Shadow was very strong."

No wonder Shady's mood and temper had been nastier than ever lately. "That means that Ein is still playing around with this," Wes reasoned wearily. "He isn't exactly sure what the full-effects are yet…He's in the 'testing' stage of his sick little experiment."

"What could Cipher want with Shadow _humans_?" Rui asked nervously.

"Who knows?" Wes's voice took on a hint of sarcasm. "Probably another 'take over the world' scheme like last time."

"We won't let them get away with it, will we?" Rui looked worried.

He shook his head. "Of course not. But before we worry about the welfare of the world, I think we should concentrate on May and Brenden."

Rui nodded determinedly. "We've got to get Nascour to let them go."

"I could threaten to kill myself again," Wes answered absently, too tired to think straight. "Or something…"

"No," Rui replied at once; forcefully. "Don't you _ever_ do that again."

Wes eyed her for a moment. "Scared that they'll take me up on the offer?"

She hesitated, before nodding. "It'd be stupid of you to die," she whispered, blue eyes huge.

To her surprise, Wes nodded wearily in agreement. "I guess it'd be rather narrow-minded."

Rui smiled faintly. "I'm certain we'll think of something."

Wes didn't answer. The future was too murky as of right now to be certain about anything.

* * *

Nascour sat behind his wide desk, drumming his fingers slowly on the surface, deep in thought. His Xatu perched silently on the edge of the desk still, its eyes blank and far-away; perhaps it was catching glimpses of the future. He wondered briefly what the future held for Cipher, but then he dismissed the thought. 

One of his Peons entered the room, giving him a bow. "Master Nascour. We have finished going through the belongings of the Hoenn children."

Nascour eyed the Peon expressionlessly. "And?"

"They were not lying. The boy really is the Hoenn Champion and the girl is a Top Coordinator." The Peon placed two Trainer Cards on the desk, along with a handful of Pokeballs.

"Interesting." Nascour examined the cards briefly. "We can use them to our advantage, then."

"Yes sir."

"If the boy is the Champion of Hoenn, then it will cause great disrupt in that region if it comes out that he is a hostage."

"Shall I place a call to their police force?"

"No. We don't want more foreigners in Orre, and Cipher is not ready for the attention of the do-gooders." Nascour allowed a smirk to creep slowly across his face. "Find Maxie of Team Magma and Archie of Team Aqua, and tell them that we have…interesting…things to offer."

"Yes sir. And what of the girl?"

"She is meaningless." Nascour answered dismissively. "Ein wants another subject. Give her to Ein, and tell him to immediately turn her Shadow."

* * *

Something sharp was being jabbed into her arm, and she blinked awake groggily—it stung. She tried to push it away, but strong hands held her back, pinning her down uncomfortably and mercilessly. 

She tried to say something; she tried to tell them to stop, but her mouth wouldn't work right for some reason. Strange.

She was being picked up now, and someone was carrying her. Where was she? Who was carrying her? She didn't know.

Suddenly she was dropped, but she was unable to cry out in pain when her shoulder hit the ground. Loud humming filled her ears— where _was_ she?

May tried to sit up, and get her bearings, willing her vision to clear...

Everything clouded over with shadows and went dark.

* * *

Uh-oh. This isn't going to be pretty, now, is it? 

This chapter was named as it is because if you look hard enough, no one is quite too sure about what might happen next.

...Fortunately for you all, I do. (sweat-drop) Really, I promise.

So when I uploaded this chapter, it randomly came in fragments and everything was messed up...I think I fixed it all, but please let me know if there's any part of this chapter that doesn't make sense or anything...it would be greatly appreciated; thanks much.

Hopefully I shall be back again soon. 8D


	26. Revelations

Hey guys.

* * *

His head was pounding, he couldn't remember the last four hours of his life, and he felt like shooting something. So, he went to the cell room. 

"Not looking too good there, Shady," Wes commented as he entered, eyes wary as he watched him. His wide-eyed girlfriend backed into the corner.

"Shut up, Wes," he hissed, quickly punching in the code that opened the door to the cell. He walked in, pulling out his gun.

Wes raised his hands slightly, standing still. "Okay, okay."

Rui whimpered, shrinking away further.

"It's gotten worse and worse around here, ever since they got you back," Shady hissed, his anger flaring. "I want to know why they haven't just _killed _you yet."

Wes suddenly found himself pressed back against the wall of the cell by an incredible force; as if something were trying to engrave him into the cement. "I can't help but agree with you," he answered Shady in a tight voice.

Shady froze. "What are you doing?" He had watched Wes fly backwards, and now he was pressing himself against the back wall of the cell, as if trying to get as flat as possible. "How did you do that?"

"It's not him," Rui spoke up, her eyes still wide. "You did that."

"What?" Shady rounded on her, keeping his gun pointed at Wes.

Rui took another step back, her eyes not meeting his; instead she was watching something around the top of his head. "W-well—"

"Shady, you gotta relax," Wes broke in, struggling slightly for breath. "Otherwise we can't help you."

"I don't need _help_ from _you_." Shady spat, turning again to glare at him with hatred. "I just want you to _die_."

Wes coughed.

"Shady, please," Rui begged, "just listen to us for one minute—"

"About what?" he snarled, shooting her a glare as well. "You want more food, little girl? Afraid you'll get hungry again?"

Wes coughed again, still struggling against some kind of invisible force. "Shady, you're out of control—"

"And who are you to call me _anything_—"

"Please, stop!" Rui shouted suddenly, even looking half-surprised at herself. "Shady, you've been turned into a Shadow Pokemon!"

* * *

"I must say, Nascour, I like this region very much." The man with his long red hair slicked back paused, shooting the man beside him a sly smirk. "Orre is certainly a region of _land_." 

His counterpart opened his mouth to roar a reply.

"Enough." Nascour eyed the two sourly. "Maxie, I did not call you here to discuss Orre's landmass."

"Of course not," answered the Team Magma Leader smoothly. "My apologies."

"You said you had something that we would find interesting," Archie interjected gruffly, eyeing Maxie with dislike out of the corner of his eye.

"That I do. I believe you are familiar with the name Brenden Birch." Nascour pushed a small plastic card across his desk, towards the two Team Bosses seated before him.

"That's the kid who knocked my Pokemon senseless," Archie growled, snatching up the Trainer Card. "Yeah, this is him."

Maxie glanced at the card briefly. "He is Hoenn's Champion now. What of him?" His tone was dismissive, but Nascour could easily pick out the dislike.

"Ah. I thought so," Nascour said slyly, taking the Trainer Card back. "Recently, Brenden Birch took a vacation to Orre. As he did with your Teams, he became involved in Cipher affairs and decided to play hero."

"If you want to hire our Grunts to take him out—" Maxie began sharply.

Nascour allowed himself a smirk. "Quite the contrary. That will not be necessary."

"You beat him?" Archie's eyebrows rose up far past the line of his blue Team Aqua bandana.

A short, dry laugh. "We don't play by the same rules as you do in Hoenn." Nascour pressed a button on the corner of his desk as he spoke. "There was no Pokemon battle involved."

Two Peons entered the room, dragging between them the unconscious form of Brenden. Maxie and Archie watched silently as he was dumped unceremoniously on the floor a few feet away from the desk. The Peons bowed, and then left the room again.

"What are we to make of this?" Maxie asked carefully, turning back to look at Nascour.

Nascour smirked again. "Just say thank you, Maxie."

"You're offering the boy to us?" Archie demanded, also turning back around.

Nascour reached into a desk drawer and dropped six Pokeballs in front of the two Team Bosses. "And his Pokemon, of course." He sat back in his chair, watching their expressions as he played with the Trainer Card in his hands absently.

"For what in exchange?" Maxie asked, still cautious, even as he stared openly at the Pokeballs.

"Nothing at all," Nascour assured him, keeping his tone pleasant. "I'm not offering the boy, my friends—I'm giving him to you to do as you please: offer him up for ransom, make him a laughingstock…the possibilities are endless, my friends…"

"And you want absolutely nothing in return?" Even Archie was now suspicious.

Nascour smirked. "I merely hope that we can all be…friends."

The two Team Bosses from Hoenn exchanged smirks of their own. Maxie held out his hand across the desk.

"Team Magma fully supports Cipher," he said as Nascour shook his hand.

"As does Team Aqua." Archie now shook hands with Nascour.

Nascour sat back in his chair once more, one last smirk playing about his lips. "Have a nice day."

* * *

Silence echoed around them. Shady remained frozen where he was, the awful Shadow aura still extended from his person, pressing Wes against the wall, who also remained equally frozen. 

"Well, not exactly a Shadow _Pokemon_," Rui corrected herself, breaking the silence. Her heart was still pounding wildly. "Since you're human."

Shady didn't say anything. She could see the disbelief—or rather, the refusal to believe—forming in his eyes just as clearly as she could see the Shadow aura around him.

"Shady." Wes dared to speak, hoping that he sounded calming. "Rui wouldn't lie. She's the only one who can see the Shadow aura." He was beyond all shock at this point, so it had been easy for him to believe her. After all, Rui would of course never lie, and it explained why Shady's temper had been beyond vile lately—the darkness of the Shadows must have been closing off his heart, causing him to be violent and enraged, just like it had done to the Shadow Pokemon.

And now they had even more solid proof: the seemingly invisible force that was crushing him against the wall.

"Ein must have changed you," Rui reasoned, continuing into the heavy silence, "He's the only one who would have been able to do it. He must've modified the machine he used to use for turning Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon to make it work on humans." She paused, suddenly looking horrified at the prospect she had just introduced. "But I don't know why he'd do that…"

Wes coughed again. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Whatever was pressing him down was gaining more and more pressure as the seconds ticked by.

At least Espeon and Umbreon weren't out, he thought dimly. He wouldn't have been able to stop them from attacking; by now they were well-attuned to sensing the Shadow Aura. But if they attacked Shady, he would probably just shoot them.

"You're both full of shit." Shady snapped, but he was weakening. He didn't look so sure of himself, Rui could see.

"Please believe me," she said earnestly. Anything to get that awful arm of Shadow to pull away from Wes. "I can see the Shadow Aura around you clearly right now, Shady. What else could be pressing Wes down like that?" She tried appealing to his logical side, hoping that he actually had one.

"I…" Shady narrowed his eyes, still suspicious.

"You've got to control your anger," Rui continued, "It's blinding you. If you're calm and controlled, you'll see what we're trying to tell you."

"I don't need you telling me what to do!" Shady hissed, and Rui saw the Shadow Aura flare up around him again.

"Okay, okay," she said quickly, still trying to soothe him. "But at least put the gun away, okay? We can't do anything or escape."

Wes watched in half-amazement as Shady slowly cooled down as Rui continued to talk to him carefully. He could very clearly remember her gentle, patient, yet firm manner when she had been helping him purify the Shadow Pokemon. She had slipped into that mode once again, but the most disturbing part this time around was that she was using it on a person.

Slowly, the invisible force receded, allowing him to take a step or two away from the wall. All the same, he kept his movements to a minimum for now, not wanting to provoke Shady's temper.

"Are you okay?" Rui asked him, relieved.

Wes nodded, giving her a look of approval while keeping an eye on Shady. He was still prone to snapping again.

"Are you okay?" Rui now turned to Shady.

Shady glared at her, but he seemed to be under control for now. "Shut up." He still clenched the gun in his hand tightly. He glared at Wes. "I should just kill you now. It'd be so easy." He raised the gun and cocked it, aiming straight for Wes's head.

Wes kept his voice level, despite the fact he was basically staring straight down the short gun barrel. "And where would that leave you, Shady?" He hoped he could pull off reasoning with him without seeming like he was trying to goad Shady, which wouldn't be a good idea.

"One step closer to my goals." He took a step closer.

"Which would be?" Wes threw out an arm to make sure Rui kept back, refusing to allow her to be caught in the crossfire if Shady was really going to shoot.

"Getting rid of you, for starters."

"Why do you hate him so much?" Rui pleaded, "What'd he ever do to you? You two hadn't met before all this, had you?"

Wes shook his head, eyes locked with Shady's. "Never."

"I hate him because he's _useless_," Shady hissed. Rui flinched as his Shadow Aura swelled up again. "We've wasted so much time and effort in dragging him back here, to the Team he willingly abandoned and refuses to willingly rejoin. _Why_? Why not just kill you outright for revenge? Why are you so fucking _important_?"

"Gonzap wants me alive for a little bit longer so he can beat the shit out of me for a little bit longer," Wes answered wearily. "So I think the best person to ask that question of is Evice, because frankly, I really don't know why they haven't just finished me off yet."

"Didn't they want you to Snag something?" Rui asked. "Since you went through all that trouble to get the Snag Machine back?"

"That's what we were originally told," Wes agreed. "But now I'm beginning to think that little exercise was to just make sure that I no longer had the Snag Machine in my possession, so I couldn't Snag anything from them anymore. I think there's something else going on around here."

"Ein and Nascour seem close," Shady added before he could stop himself.

Wes nodded, thinking. Nascour and Ein were potentially very dangerous, if they really were working together. Both were equally cunning—Ein providing technological brains, with Nascour providing funding and other means of support. He wouldn't put it past them to use Evice and Cipher to their own full advantage.

It was a possibility, then. Ein had to have been the one behind the new Shadow modifications to Shady; he had created Shady in the first place, and wouldn't be daunted at all to perform further experiments on him. Nascour was probably running the whole show from behind the scenes, while also making sure Evice, Cipher, and Team Snagem were oblivious to the scheme.

The more he thought about it, the more and more likely it seemed.

And then there was Shady, leveling the gun at him. What was he up to? Obviously he didn't believe Rui at all about the Shadow Aura around him, so obviously Ein had a way of making him forget whatever operation he must have had to undergone. Wes was pretty sure that Shady still didn't know that he was a clone, too. But he apparently had his own "goals" in mind…

This was turning into a bigger mess every second that passed.

"Look, shoot me now, and Gonzap will probably shoot you himself," Wes said to his angry counterpart, still hoping to persuade him to lower the gun. "It's not worth it."

Before Shady could reply, the door to the cell room opened. Ein glided into the room, stray hair bouncing wildly as he walked, and came to a stop as soon as his narrow eyes took in the scene.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked Shady icily, coming to stand in the doorway of the cell. "You know we were told not to kill him yet."

"Why is he so important?" Shady demanded, turning his question to Ein. He did lower his gun, though only by a fraction. "What can _he_ do that I _can't_?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a tense silence. Shady himself looked as if he regretted speaking.

Ein was the first to recover. "It bothers you that he seemingly as more value to Gonzap than you to?" he asked. It was impossible to tell if he was being mocking or not.

Wes remained still. Shady was desperate to prove himself and have worth, and he didn't even know that he was a clone yet. What would he do if he found out that he was just one of Ein's experiments; not really meant to exist in the first place?

"No," Shady hissed, but the damage was already done. He shoved past Ein roughly out of the cell and left, disappearing out into the hall.

"Interesting," Ein murmured, though more to himself than to Wes or Rui. "I thought he hated Gonzap and Team Snagem."

"What have you done to him?" asked Rui in a small voice, just above a whisper.

"So you _can_ see." Ein turned to her at once, looking pleased. "Excellent. I had been wondering. Now, young lady, if you'll just come with me—"

Wes stepped in front of Rui automatically. A feeling that he had been harboring ever since they had dumped her in here with him had suddenly grown so much stronger, and for some reason he knew that it was right. "What do you want from her?"

Ein barely blinked. "Get out of my way, Wes, or I'll call your master in here."

The Snagger didn't move. "She's not going anywhere with you."

Rui's eyes had widened at the mention of Wes's boss. "Please, Wes," she whispered fearfully, moving as if to step around him, "I'm not worth you getting beaten to a pulp—"

"Yes you are." Wes answered her quietly, grabbing her arm to stop her, and ignoring Ein for the moment. "Rui…" You're all that and more, can't you see?

She was suddenly the most important thing in the world to him, even more important than his Pokemon. He had hidden his feelings, not wanting to show signs of weakness to anyone—himself—but now he couldn't hide anymore. He no longer wanted to protect her to save himself from a guilty conscience if she were to die, he wanted to protect her because…because…because he lo—

"Touching," Ein sneered with a low laugh, "but not moving enough, I'm afraid." He lifted his hand, speaking into a communicator. "Gonzap."

"If he's turned Shady Shadow, he can turn you too," Wes said quickly, ignoring how Ein continued to speak into the communicator. There was no telling how fast Gonzap could get there. "Rui…" He looked up to meet her gaze. "I don't want to lose you."

Rui stepped closer to him, looking back into his golden eyes that pleaded with her. "I know," she said softly, reaching out to grasp one of his gloved hands, "But I don't want to lose you, either." She paused. "They already took Brenden and May. We don't even know what happened to them." She hesitated again, before flinging herself at him, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his shoulder. "If that were to happen…if you disappeared too…"

For the first time since he had ever met her, Wes gave Rui a true hug back, holding her tightly. Even as the door to the room slid open once more and Gonzap stomped in along with two Grunts, Wes still held onto Rui, pressing close.

"Bring me the girl," Ein ordered irritably. This was taking longer than he had expected, and he wanted to move things along. "I don't care what you do to him, as long as you don't kill him yet, but bring the girl to me."

Gonzap laughed. "Good, I needed an outlet for some of my built-up _stress_." He shoved past Ein and entered the cell, his two Grunts following him.

"Rui, I—" Love you. Love you so much. "Don't look back," Wes muttered.

Before she could reply, the Grunts yanked her away, while Gonzap grabbed Wes and slammed him against the wall. Wes didn't fight or resist; his eyes on Rui's back as the two Grunts led her out of the cell.

"Follow me." Ein addressed the Grunts curtly before turning and sweeping from the room. The Grunts immediately followed, continuing to lead Rui along with them.

Rui did not struggle or resist either, obediently walking forward without looking back, even when she heard a sickening thud come from back in the cell.

Wes, I love you.

Silently, her pretty blue eyes threatening to water, Rui allowed herself to be led from the room.

Gonzap waited until the door slid shut behind them before turning back to Wes. "Hey, have you seen Shady?" he asked conversationally, tightening his grip on his minion's throat.

Wes's head was still reeling from the blow he had received several seconds ago, and the sudden restriction on his breathing air was not helping. All he could manage to get out was a weak cough, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Are those tears?" Gonzap laughed loudly, forgetting his question in an instant. "You've gotten so _weak_." He let go of Wes's throat for a moment, allowing the Snagger to sag and gasp for breath. "You used to fight back, and resist more. You never cried once. But now you cry when I hit you?" He laughed again, thoroughly entertained by the notion. "You're just a wet punching bag, now. Which is fine with me." He drew back a fist and punched.

Wes's head snapped back on impact, and he felt warm blood drain from his nose. Gonzap kicked his feet out from underneath him, and he collapsed, landing hard on his side. The kick to his stomach came before he could defend himself, and bile rose in his throat as he gave a moan of pain. The world was fading so fast…maybe he really was weaker. Softer. But that didn't matter; all that mattered…

Rui…

* * *

Note: 

I am still alive, see? A few things have come up, one after the other, that have been keeping me away from this site and all you guys who like to read this. For that, I am sorry but there wasn't much I could do. I'm okay now. Really really.

I also can't promise swift updates, and I'm sorry about that too. It's a bit out of my hands at this point. Thanks to all of you who reviewed last chapter, urging me to update: this one's for you, guys.

For those of you who don't (understandably) regularly visit my profile, I've uploaded another story. It's just a short oneshot take on some slightly humerous romance between Wes and Rui for you; it has no connection to this story, though. I'm (obviously) not that great at the romance genre, but stop by if you'd like and let me know what you think.

Thanks for all your patience (or impatience) with me, guys! You're really the best.


	27. Coming to Light

**Disclaimer: **I own a rubber band, not the rights and titles to Pokemon, Nintendo, and all their affiliates.

* * *

Brenden sat up groggily, rubbing his forehead. Wherever he was, the whole place was rocking unsteadily, swaying back and forth. The sensation immediately reminded him of this journey on the S.S. Tidal right after he had become Champion, so his immediate conclusion was that he was on a ship of some kind.

Wait…if he was in Orre—a _desert_, for Kyogre's sake—why would he be on a ship in water?

More alert now, Brenden scrambled to his feet, stumbling slightly due to the uneven rocking and his light head. He appeared to be in the cargo hold; boxes, some open and some closed, littered the dirty floor and there were no windows in the dim room. He found the door that must have been both the entrance and exit, but of course it was tightly locked and didn't budge when he tried to open it.

This was bad.

Sitting on one of the unopened boxes, Brenden ran over what he could last remember. Following Wes and Shady in Phenac, and then ducking into a store with May to avoid being seen. May! Quickly, he looked around, but it didn't take long to conclude that she was nowhere to be seen. He hoped she was okay.

They had managed to not be seen by Shady and the Snagem Grunts, but upon exiting their hiding place, they had been attacked by a large Xatu. They had been transported to Nascour's office, but after that, everything was fuzzy.

With a grimace he realized that his Pokeballs, along with his bag of supplies, were gone. He made himself sit still and breathe, despite the growing sense of panic. Here he was, on a ship with an unknown destination, locked in the cargo hold with both May and his Pokemon missing.

May was the one holding onto the PDA, so he couldn't contact Rui or Nett, either. He was stuck on this one alone.

The door to the hold opened, and the last person on earth he expected to see walked into the room.

"Hey there, sweetie." Team Aqua Admin Shelly stood in the doorway, impossibly tall in her high heeled boots, and her wild bright orange hair barely contained beneath her trademark Team Aqua bandanna. She came further into the room, her boots echoing loudly. "Long time no see, huh?"

Brenden remained seated on his box, and stared at her.

She grinned widely, revealing all of her teeth. "Thought you'd seen the last of me, didn't you, babe?" She threw back her head and laughed; the same laugh she had given after he had thoroughly thrashed her in a battle, the one that almost had a twinge of madness in it. "Regretting getting all high and mighty with me yet?"

Brenden decided not to answer. Shelly was intense enough without her Pokemon out, and he had no way to fight back at the moment. "Where are we?"

"Aw, the little Champion is lost." She broke off from her laughter, beginning to sneer. Her voice was beginning to grate on his ears. "You're not much of anything without your Pokemon, are you? You're just a kid."

"I'm just a Trainer," he answered stiffly. "Where are we?"

"On our way back to Hoenn," she answered haughtily. "We rushed on over to Orre because _Nascour _called us up with some interesting information regarding _you_. And weren't we surprised when he just handed you over to us? But now we're taking our slow, steady time getting back."

Nascour had pawned him off to Team Aqua? Brenden was actually impressed. Didn't take the guy long to figure out who his enemies were, huh? He supposed it hadn't been too hard…The famous brand-new Champion of Hoenn had already been all over the news beforehand for kicking both Team Aqua and Team Magma across the whole island of Hoenn.

"I'm going up to tell the Boss that you're awake," Shelly continued gleefully, "because he really can't _wait_ to see you again."

With another one of her mad laughs, she stomped out of the cargo hold, the heavy iron door slamming shut behind her.

Brenden settled back to wait. This was going to be interesting, at least…

* * *

Rui followed the Grunts with her head down, still fighting back tears. She could already tell that they were taking her to Ein's workroom, and she didn't know what was going to happen, and she was scared. Worst of all, Wes was getting the life beat out of him just because he wanted to protect her for a few seconds longer.

Wes…

Ever since he had first pulled the sack she had been unceremoniously stuffed in off of her in the entrance of Phenac, looking at her with his—back then—cold, disinterested eyes, she had had a huge crush on him. She had been just an innocent—_little_—girl then, who probably would have "fallen in love" with any boy who might have opened the sack. It helped that he wasn't bad-looking at all; quite the contrary. She had giggled and swooned, dropped hints, and even followed him twice around the town, showering him with thanks for his "daring rescue" and bravery.

But then the serious business had arisen: the Snagging and Purifying of the Shadow Pokemon. She learned that he had once been a member of Team Snagem, the gang every local in Orre hated and feared. That new tidbit of information about her supposed hero had put her off for awhile; she began to actually fear him. But then she learned that he had quit the team on his own, looking for a better way to live and survive.

Of course, that only made him even nobler in her eyes. She told him right then and there that she vowed to help him with the Shadow Pokemon—who else could recognize them, anyway?—so of course he had to agree. She could remember the rush of glee when he had agreed to rescue the Shadow Pokemon and let her come along.

Their travels together after that, though dangerous and nerve-wracking at times, were some of the best memories of her life. She learned a little bit more about him each day and by the end of their journey had finally gathered enough sense to back off—he was struggling to find his own self, and he didn't need a silly love-struck girl clinging to him. That was why she hadn't protested too hard when he had quietly announced that he was going his own way for awhile.

So Rui had settled back into just as quietly loving him from afar. He was her best friend, and she knew he considered her to be his. That was good enough for her.

But now…

She loved Wes with every fiber of her being. If only she had told him that before the Grunts had taken her from the cell room.

Rui had never known such deep regret ever before.

"In here. Go on." The Grunts shoved her through a door and quickly shut it behind her.

She stumbled forward a few paces before catching herself, saving herself the embarrassment of falling flat on her face. Were the Grunts actually afraid of Ein or something?

"Get back here." Ein's voice drifted up to her from further back in the lab.

Suppressing a shiver, Rui did as she was told. He certainly was creepy enough…

"I need you to look at this, and tell me what you see." Ein stood near a door at the end of the room, holding it open for her.

A strange sensation passed over her suddenly, and she froze. Something about this was entirely too familiar. It felt almost as if she were standing in front of Shady again—

"You turned someone else Shadow?" Her words came out as a breathy gasp, her throat dry.

"So you can _sense_ them, as well as see them?" Ein looked intrigued.

Rui remained rooted to the spot, her face slightly pale. "I couldn't ever sense a Shadow Pokemon. Just see them."

"Perhaps because the subject is human…?" Ein let the door swing shut, gliding over to a counter top that appeared to have his notes spread across it. He bent over and began to scribble wildly, muttering to himself.

Rui took a step forward, but her feet seemed as if they were weighted down by lead. But she had to know what was behind that door…

Ein ignored her as she slowly approached the door, reaching out with a shaking hand to grasp the handle. She took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

* * *

Shady stormed down the hall, heading straight for Dakim's room. They were going to finish Wes off once and for all, and his little girlfriend too, no matter what the consequences—

A hearty laugh shook him from his enraged thoughts, stopping him in his tracks. "Is that you, Wes?"

Evice himself waddled down the hall towards him, all dressed up in his pleasant mayor guise. Behind his bulk, Nascour trailed after him.

"I'm not Wes," Shady hissed, narrowing his eyes further.

He was aware of Nascour eyeing him critically, looking him over closely. Shady glared back. Weird sicko.

"Ah, of course you're not!" Evice stopped in front of him. "You must be Shady, right? Ein's little clone! Pleased to meet you! My, he did a marvelous job with you, didn't he?"

Nascour completely froze.

Shady rocked back slightly, stunned. What?

Evice's smile widened slightly, but his jolly manner completely dropped. "Ah, that's right. You weren't supposed to know that. My mistake." He patted Shady on the shoulder, waddling past him. Nascour gave him a guarded look as he passed, giving him a wide berth. When no one could see, Evice smirked to himself as he continued down the hall.

Shady stood completely still in the hallway, staring blankly at the wall, his mind running in frantic circles.

* * *

Brenden didn't have long to wait. Only a few minutes after Shelly disappeared, the heavy door was opening once again. Archie came in, followed by Maxie; both of them looking as greasy as ever.

The Hoenn Champion stared at them both blankly. Team Aqua _and_ Team Magma?

"Hey kid," Archie said, grinning widely. "Get ready for some payback."

Maxie calmly tossed a single Pokeball up and down in one hand slowly. Brenden automatically knew it belonged to his Swampert; which meant Maxie probably had his other Pokemon somewhere close by.

"You two are working together?" Brenden asked. It was hard to imagine, let alone see it for himself. Team Aqua and Team Magma hated each other to the utmost extreme.

"You smeared both of our Teams' names," Maxie replied calmly, "so now we're going to put aside our differences…temporarily…to smear yours."

Brenden would have laughed, except it probably wasn't a good idea at the moment. "Where's May?"

The Team Bosses exchanged glances.

"Nascour only mentioned you." Archie said with a shrug.

"And we're only interested in you," Maxie added smoothly. "_You're_ the Trainer who crumbled our ambitions."

"Doesn't look like I did a good job, seeing as you're both back for more," Brenden answered dryly. "Didn't I teach you guys anything the last time around?"

Archie growled and took a threatening step forward, but Maxie caught his arm. "Wait until we reach Hoenn," he said calmly, though his eyes sent Brenden a scorching glare. "_Then_ we can retaliate in full force."

* * *

He was lying in a small pool of his own blood when he regained consciousness. With a groan, he reached up to tentatively feel his nose. Thankfully it wasn't broken; it was just bleeding a lot.

Wes pushed himself up into a sitting position, lightheaded and weak. He tilted his head back and plugged his nose for a few moments to get the bleeding to stop, wondering wearily how much more of this he could really take.

Everything hurt; evidently Gonzap's beating had continued even after he had lost consciousness. He wiped his mouth, running over a smear of dried blood. Pleasant.

There was no way for him to tell how long he had been out. He felt a pang when he thought of Rui. If Ein…

He couldn't even bring himself to think about it.

Wes climbed to his feet shakily. Finally now he was starting to feel the beginnings of hunger. His ribs were incredibly sore, and it felt like a certain heavy, desert-worn boot had been driven into them repeatedly. That probably wasn't that far off from the truth, either.

Straightening himself out despite the pain from all over, Wes lurched over to the door of the cell. Of course, the automatic lock was tightly shut. He studied the panel through the thick glass. He hadn't wanted to risk it before, but if he had Espeon try to look at it…

It was a dangerous bargain. These cells had originally contained Shadow Pokemon, so the locks were probably Pokemon-proof; especially against Psychic-types. But Espeon was a bit stronger than the average Pokemon—Shadow or not—and Wes had no doubts that the lavender Pokemon would be able to figure out how to undo the lock.

The real risk, however, was being discovered. If someone—anyone—came in and saw him and Espeon attempting to break the lock…

Before he could decide anything, the door to the room opened and Evice waddled in, followed closely by Nascour and Miror B.

"Here's the little darling!" Miror B. announced, striking one of his awful poses and pointing dramatically at Wes.

Wes took an automatic step backwards as Evice approached the glass to peer in at him. Today Evice was dressed as Es Cade, but Wes was no longer fooled—he was still just as evil as the man beneath the disguise.

"Wes," Evice said, his gaze flickering over the Snagger once, "how glad I am to see you again."

Wes said nothing. On the inside, he was slowly numbing over. If Evice had come, that could really only mean one thing: the end was very near.

"I was told we also acquired his young lady friend?" Evice looked away from Wes, back to Nascour and Miror B. for confirmation.

Miror B. nodded, his afro bobbing wildly. "Yes sir!" He changed poses as he spoke, his hips swinging.

"Where is she?" This question was directed towards Nascour.

"I do not know, sir." Nascour answered smoothly, but his eyes had locked onto Wes.

Evice followed Nascour's gaze back to Wes. "Perhaps our friend here could tell us?"

Wes remained mute, staring back at them all. He wasn't afraid anymore. He could take whatever they decided on dishing out to him.

Evice merely laughed. "It will bring me joy to break you, Wes." He turned around fully. "Come. I wish to see Ein." He waddled back out of the room, Miror B. prancing along behind him and Nascour following at a much more even pace.

* * *

The room behind the door was a smaller version of the cell room Wes was in, except this room only had one cell. Rui took another step forward to see what—or who—was huddled in the corner, half-hidden by the unmistakable Shadow Aura.

She gasped.

May looked up as Rui entered. "Rui," she called, sounding relieved. "I'm glad to see you!" She climbed to her feet, approaching the glass.

Rui said nothing, now completely pale. Around May swirled the Shadow Aura; not as strong or angrily violent as Shady's, but still there.

"I'm sorry, Rui. They caught us when we were trying to follow Wes and Shady. I don't know where Brenden is." May sounded worried. "Is Wes okay?"

Wide-eyed, Rui watched May fearfully.

"Rui, what's _wrong_?" May sounded nervous now. "What's that look you're giving me for?"

"May…" Rui trailed weakly. "You're…"

"Welcome, Master Evice," Ein said suddenly from behind Rui, his voice calm and measured. "I hope you find that the lab meets your expectations, sir."

Rui whirled around, ignoring May's call of "What's going on?"

Es Cade—or rather, Evice—entered the workroom, Nascour and Miror B. in tow. "Yes, everything seems to be in order," Evice said dismissively as he waddled further into the room. His piggy little eyes swept once around the room and came to a stop on Rui. "Ah, there she is. Wes's lady friend."

Ein's eyes flickered to Nascour's so quickly that Rui wasn't sure if they really had exchanged glances. "Yes, sir," he said, cautious now.

"We just stopped by to see Wes," Evice said, smiling. "I was so glad to see him again. It will be fun to punish him."

Over the top of Evice's head, Nascour gave a faint, barely perceivable nod to Ein. Rui remained frozen, terrified and wondering what was going on.

"Yes it will, sir," Ein agreed smoothly, giving no hint that he had even seen Nascour.

"All children must be punished, however." Evice turned back to Rui. "What is she doing out of her cage, where she belongs?"

In the blink of an eye, Nascour had drawn a gun, aimed, and fired.

Rui screamed as the shot went off, flinching horribly. Miror B. shrieked like a girl, diving to cower behind one of Ein's counters. Evice's eyes went wide and round, and as he choked for air, his little arms flailed. He fell forward with a huge thud, dark red blood pooling around his lifeless heap of a body.

"Rui?" May's voice was the first that could be heard. "_Rui?_"

"I'm okay," Rui stammered to quiet her, backed up and pressed against a wall. She was completely in shock.

"Master Ein?" A Peon ran in through the door, slightly out of breath and alerted due to the gunshot. Further down the hall outside, more running footsteps and voices could be heard.

Without hesitating, Nascour grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the room. Once the door was shut, Nascour smashed the panel on the wall beside the door to jam it shut; just as more people arrived, banging wildly on the door.

"How dare you murder Evice," he proclaimed loudly, making sure everyone outside the room could hear. "You treacherous scum!"

He held his gun up to the Peon's head and fired.

Rui slid down to a crouch, holding her mouth and nose as she tried not to gag, her eyes squeezed shut. She trembled as she heard Nascour drop the lifeless body to the floor.

"I was hoping we'd be able to do this outside of the lab," Ein commented sourly. "I have to re-sterilize everything again now."

"It was the most opportune chance," Nascour replied calmly. He pointed his gun at Miror B. "What do you think, Master Miror B?"

"A P-peon ran into t-the r-room and sh-shot Master Evice," Miror B. wailed, still cowering behind the counter. His entire afro quivered, looking just like a wild Pokemon struggling to get out of a Pokeball.

"Very good." Nascour let his gun drop to the floor, mingling with blood and bodies. "Do not make me regret allowing you to be a witness."

"Of c-course n-not." Miror B. answered at once, raising his head slightly.

"Master Nascour?" Voices clamored outside of the jammed door.

Nascour raised his voice, sighing loudly. "Friends." He paused, as everything grew silent. "One of our own has turned against us. He locked us in here, and, in cold blood, murdered Master Evice."

There was a collective gasp of shock from outside the room. Venus could be heard sobbing dramatically.

"I was able to revenge Master Evice," Nascour continued, sounding every bit the underling mourning for his master, "by quick action. The murderer is dead, shot down with his own weapon."

A cheer, and applause.

"Master Ein is working to fix the door," Nascour continued. "Once it is open, you may all step in to mourn for our loss."

Murmurs started up outside the door as everyone stood to wait.

Nascour lowered his voice. "To business. Can she see them, just as she saw the Pokemon?"

Rui opened her eyes as Ein nodded. "Yes, she can see them."

Nascour suddenly glared at Evice's body. "He revealed to Shady that he was a clone, Ein."

"What?" Ein demanded. "Blasted fool! Shady's fully Shadow, do you know how easy it is to anger him? And he wasn't supposed to _know_!"

Rui's eyes were wide. Shady was a _clone_? That was why he looked just like Wes?

"Yes, your reports have said that much." Nascour's gaze returned to Rui. "You've seen too much, little girl."

"She's the bait we hold over Wes's head," Ein reminded him.

"None of that matters anymore," Nascour snapped dismissively. "We don't have to pretend to hold onto Wes for Evice's revenge. I'll take up the mantle of Cipher's leadership and announce a new agenda."

Ein gave a wry smile. "Very well."

"Show me the new Shadow process," Nascour ordered, cold eyes locked on Rui. "Before we open this door, I want one more Shadow-human to run tests on. Then we can start mass production."

* * *

**Note: **This chapter was named "Coming to Light" because at last almost all of the intentions of the characters are revealed. 


	28. And the Shadow Falls

**Note: **For this to make sense, the events concerning Brenden and the events concerning May/Rui/Wes/Shady are not happing at the same time. Hoenn's on a different clock than Orre, for the sake of this story. Haha.

**Disclaimer:** Happy (late) April Fool's?

* * *

Brenden was marched down the gangway of the Team Aqua-emblazoned ship, guarded by a Team Aqua Grunt to his left and a Team Magma Grunt to his right. Maxie and Archie walked side-by-side a little ahead of them, deep in murmured discussion. It seemed that the two Teams really were willing to put aside their differences temporarily in order to "share" him.

After spending at least two more hours cramped up in the cargo hold, Brenden had begun to sense the ship slowing down. It hadn't been long after that when he had been retrieved from his prison and marched outside.

It was dark outside, but the full moon reflected brightly on the calm, still waters of Lilycove City's harbor. The ship was moored tightly to the steep rocky cliffs that ran along the northern end of the harbor. Brenden recognized the place right away; they had pulled right up to Team Aqua's not-so-secretive Hideout. He could clearly remember rooting the Team out of the base and collecting a handy Master Ball in the process.

As Brenden looked out across the placid waters, a flicker of movement caught his eye. Something glided low over the water, flapping its jagged wings in order to keep airborne. Brenden grinned briefly, before turning his head forward and letting the grin fade.

They stopped just outside the entrance to the Hideout, where Archie paused before the huge steel door that barred the way. It looked brand-new; they must have installed it after Brenden had merely walked—or rather, Surfed—on in and wiped the floor with their sorry excuse of a Team.

"We wouldn't want you in our Hideout either," Maxie said calmly at Archie's hesitation, "but rest assured, we'll be transporting the boy to our Hideout as well at some point. We'd be even then."

Brenden made a face without commenting. The Team Magma Hideout was hidden in the bowels of Mt. Chimney, Hoenn's resident volcano. The entrance was a pain in itself to reach—on the craggy ledges of Jagged Pass—but on the inside, the heat was the worst, especially with perilous magma pits at every turn. He had been especially glad to have had his Water-type Swampert with him when clearing out the base, to help cool down every once in awhile.

Archie nodded. "No law says we can't redo the Hideout structure once you're out of here, either." He laughed, punching in the code that would open the door.

Maxie merely gave a thin smirk.

"Let's go, Metagross! Meteor Mash!"

The calm night suddenly erupted with light, as meteors that came from seemingly nowhere pummeled the ship, the cliff, and the waters around them. Grunts shouted as they dove for cover, most of them ending up in the water. Everything erupted into chaos as the meteors hammered down.

Brenden yanked his arms loose from the panicking Grunts that were supposed to be holding onto him. Archie and Maxie were busy shouting orders, so neither of them noticed that Brenden was loose until he tacked Maxie to the ground, going straight for the pack—_his_ pack—that the Team Magma Boss held in his hands.

"Archie!" hissed Maxie, yanking hard on the pack while attempting to kick the white-haired Trainer away. "Grab him!"

The Team Aqua Boss hoisted Brenden up by the waist, attempting to drag him off of Maxie, but Brenden clung tightly to his pack, and thus the tug-of-war began. Brenden shut his eyes and held on tightly as Archie attempted to pull him and Maxie attempted to kick him away.

"Easy, boys. How about we all back up a little?"

Still keeping a firm grip on his pack, Brenden craned his neck to look up. Archie and Maxie, also fortifying their grip on the Trainer and his pack, glared up at the sky.

Former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone hovered in midair on the back of his trusted Skarmory, while his powerful Metagross floated nearby, held aloft by its incredible psychic prowess—the source of the meteor shower.

"Steven!" he called up to the gray-haired Trainer. "I'm glad to see you!"

In the moonlight, he could see his friend's amused smile. "I'll bet you are. What kind of Champion gets himself into a situation like this?"

"One that beat you!" Brenden answered proudly. "And it's a long story. How about helping me out, for old time's sake, and in exchange I'll tell you my story?"

Steven gave a brief laugh, still amused. "Fair enough. Hold still."

"He's not going anywhere!" Archie roared, pulling on Brenden roughly.

"We have a score to settle!" Maxie snapped, yanking on the pack.

Steven seemed to sigh. "Archie, Maxie. Crawl back into your holes. You're both finished, and you both already know it. Metagross, Psychic."

The giant Steel-type glowed blue with its power, and suddenly Brenden was yanked upwards by a much stronger force. With a yell, Archie let go of him out of shock and slipped off the gangway, plummeting down into the water with a splash.

Maxie was harder to get rid of. As Brenden was pulled upwards by Metagross, the Team Magma leader held on tightly to the pack, and was lifted along with Brenden.

As they drew level with Steven and his Pokemon, Skarmory spread his wings wide and flapped hard, creating a wild gust. Brenden continued to rise steadily, safely and firmly in the Psychic grasp of Metagross. Maxie was roughly buffeted, and at last his grip failed and he plunged down into the sea along with half of his Team and most of Team Aqua.

"Thanks!" Brenden grinned as he was gently set down on top of Metagross's flat head. He quickly dug through his pack to locate his Pokeballs, hitching them back to his belt where they rightfully belonged.

Steven regarded the fragmented Teams below them thoughtfully. "You know, we should put that ship out of commission for good." He paused, considering. "Hold on tight, Brenden. Metagross, Hyper Beam!"

Brenden released his Swellow and quickly hopped on the Flying-type's back as orange light began to collect into a sphere near the center of the large X across Metagross's face. The sphere shimmered for a moment, before being released in a huge burst of energy, directed into a single neat beam right at Team Aqua's ship.

The ship ignited with a huge explosion that was sure to wake the nearby residents of Lilycove. Brenden and Steven hovered side-by-side for a few moments, watching the waterlogged Teams swim desperately for safety while the burning ship slowly sank into the deep waters of the harbor.

"I remember that beam," Brenden said idly, recalling his battle with the former Champion. "Knocked poor Manectric out in a single hit." He paused, grinning. "But then Swampert got you with Earthquake."

Steven shook his head in amusement. "Good work, Metagross. Return." He recalled his strongest Pokemon, before looking back to Brenden. "Now that that's over with, how about we talk? You have a bit of explaining to do, I think. My house isn't far."

Brenden nodded agreeably. "Sure. Let's make it quick. I'm on a tight schedule."

* * *

Wes's back hit the wall hard, and with a strangled gasp the air in his lungs forcibly left as the crushing pressure bore down on him.

"You _knew_," Shady hissed, getting right up into Wes's face. "Didn't you?"

"I did," Wes managed to gasp, once again resorting to struggling in order to get air. "_Shady_—"

"So I'm just a cheap rip off of _you_," Shady seethed. He was livid; his entire face pale with anger. Every word he spoke increased the pressure more and more. "A _copy_."

Wes could no longer inhale, and he had no air left in his lungs to exhale.

"A _copy_." Shady repeated, gaze adverted. He seemed almost bitter now. He looked back to meet Wes's wide, panicked eyes. "Who told you?"

Wes choked mutely, unable to make a sound.

Shady stepped back suddenly, and the pressure faded. Wes had no way of seeing it himself, but he could tell immediately that the Shadow Aura had withdrawn.

He sagged, gasping for breath and coughing harshly. Shady watched, glaring at him, as he drew in ragged breaths, relishing in the oxygen returning to his system.

"Gonzap told me," Wes said when his breathing had returned to a somewhat normal level. His voice was thin and weak. "One of the first days I was here, he told me. I didn't know until then, I swear."

Shady seemed calmer now, his initial rage worn down. "Gonzap…_made_…me."

"No. Ein made you."

"Why?" demanded Shady. He kept up his tough exterior, but Wes could tell he was deeply shaken and disturbed.

_To prove that I could._ Ein's smug words came back to him at once. "I don't know." Wes hesitated, unsure on how far Shady could be tried. "I think…"

Shady stared back at him coldly.

"I know they had some of my blood. DNA. I think Ein created you so he could do tests on you. Eventually try to turn you Shadow." Wes watched him warily, waiting for a reaction.

Shady said nothing.

"I wasn't pressing myself up against the wall and not breathing for the fun of it," Wes told him flatly. "Rui said she saw it around you clearly, and I'll believe her any day over anyone else. You're Shadow."

Shady narrowed his eyes at him, but thought for a moment before answering. "So I'm nothing more than a lab rat."

Wes merely shrugged and then nodded slightly.

For awhile, silence was maintained. Wes didn't move, almost leaned back against the wall of the cell, watching Shady. Shady too remained still, and Wes was sure he had never seen Shady put so much thought into something before.

"What do I do?" he hissed suddenly, eyes focused on something that wasn't there.

"You can't hang around here any longer," Wes dared to answer. He was surprised that Shady was asking him, of all people, what to do. "Now that they know you know what you are, they'll just go ahead and conduct whatever other experiments they want on you." He paused. "As far as I know, you're the first one they turned Shadow. They'll want to run all sorts of preliminary tests on you before getting rid of you entirely."

"This just speeds up my plans of getting out of here," Shady muttered, more to himself than to Wes. He gave a faint smirk. "I'll just leave the same way you left Team Snagem."

"What, blow the hell out of everything?" Wes asked, his tone running dry. "How original."

"I'm not original," Shady sneered, "I'm _you_. Unfortunately."

"I don't like it either," Wes assured him. He thought for a moment, regarding his clone. Poor, twisted clone. You're going to be used until the very end. "I could help you, though."

Shady raised an eyebrow.

"You want to blow this lab up. I wouldn't mind blowing it up either. We could work together on this."

"I don't want your help," Shady snarled. "In fact, I'd rather you blew up too."

"What do you know of the world outside of this lab, outside of Team Snagem?" Wes asked coldly. "I'll bet if you tried hard enough you'll find that all of the memories of whatever 'childhood' or 'past' you have are fake, grown into you by Ein. I don't like you either, but you need my help and I need yours."

Shady was silent for another moment. "Fine," he snapped at long last, "but I'm in charge."

Wes gave a short nod. "Fine. But if I help you, you help me. Before we blow everything up, we get Rui out of here safely."

Shady merely smirked. "You show me where you got explosives last time, first."

Wes shook his head. "No."

Shady shook his head as well. "I don't trust you, then. What's to stop you from running away once we get your stupid little girlfriend out of here?"

"The fact that I want to blow up the lab too," Wes answered calmly. "Use _my_ brain, Shady. Even if I were able to get out of here, they'd just come after me again since they all have personal vendettas against me. There'd be no point in me escaping without causing them permanent damage. Not to mention that I don't want them using the machine that turned you Shadow on anyone else, either."

Shady eyed him for a moment. Wes resisted the urge to hold his breath—it was another dangerous bargain. Whatever Shady decided…

The Shadow clone turned away, with a curt "Fine. Let's go," over his shoulder.

* * *

"So that's how I ended up on a Team Aqua ship," Brenden concluded, before taking a long draught from his glass of water that had, before now, been left untouched.

Steven raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a tale, Brenden."

The white-haired Trainer nodded, setting his glass back down. The two old friends were seated at Steven's small table in Steven's small house on the northwestern end of the small island of Mossdeep City. "Yeah, it is. But it's not over yet. I've got to get back to Orre fast. Wes and Rui still need help, and I've got to find May."

Steven stood, pushing his chair back. "Let's go, shall we?" he asked calmly, giving a faint grin at Brenden's start of surprise. "It sounds like you need a little more firepower behind you. The League is quiet right now—we haven't had anyone up to the challenge since you—so I'm not needed to help run things. Besides…once we're through with all this business, I could see what kind of stones Orre's desert might contain."

Brenden grinned as he stood as well. "That's the only reason you're coming," he mocked, though he was inwardly grateful for Steven's company, "to expand your little rock collection."

"Only reason indeed," Steven replied dryly, leading the way to the door.

"Thanks, Steven." Brenden grinned again. "Let's go."

* * *

Rui realized that she was shaking as she watched Ein prepare the machinery, adjusting knobs and tweaking valves. She was still on her knees, frozen in place, pressed back against the far wall of the lab, with her eyes wide in fear.

"Hurry up," Nascour ordered tersely. The murmuring outside the lab room door was growing louder as the Peons and other Admins waited outside in the hall.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Ein snapped, drawing liquid with a doctor's shot from a vial he had retrieved from a freezer with practiced hands. "It takes time, you know."

"Rui, what's going on?" demanded May's voice from the back room. She sounded half-annoyed, half-worried.

"Alright, Nascour," Ein muttered, carefully setting the vial back in the freezer before turning to survey Rui. "If you could just hold her still…"

"Miror B," Nascour said tonelessly, glancing briefly at the half-forgotten form cowering behind the counter.

Rui panicked as Ein and Miror B. advanced towards her. Her frozen joints seemed to suddenly de-thaw, and she scrambled wildly to her feet just as Miror B. lunged at her.

"No!" Rui screamed as Miror B. grabbed her arm, dragging her towards Ein who waited with the doctor's shot raised in one hand. "Let me go!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with Shadow. May burst out of the back room, looking completely surprised. Rui could see the Shadow Aura pulsing strongly around her friend as the brunette recovered from her surprise and glared with almost frightening ferocity at the three astonished Cipher members.

"Let her go!" As May shouted, the Shadow Aura around her barreled towards them.

Rui saw it coming, but of course Ein, Nascour, and Miror B. could not. As the Shadow Aura slammed into them, Rui managed to struggle free from Miror B's grasp, staggering away. With cries, the three Admins were knocked down and pressed to the ground, just as Wes had been pressed against the wall by Shady's Aura.

"May! May!" Rui called, still completely pale but determined to snap May out of her rage. "I'm okay! Hurry, let's _go_!"

May blinked. "Did _I_ do that?" she asked blankly, suddenly aware of her surroundings.

Rui grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Come _on_, May! Hurry!"

At last May tore herself away from the scene before her, turning to follow Rui as she pulled her towards the elevator in the back of the lab. The two girls stumbled inside, and Rui didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the doors slid shut and the ascent upward began.

* * *

Wes followed Shady down the hall, keeping a careful distance. If he knew himself—and therefore Shady—as well as he thought he did, their partnership wasn't destined to last very long. As soon as his "usefulness" ran out—

"What's going on?" Shady hissed, stopping.

The hallway outside of the door to Ein's lab room was crowded with almost all of the people in the building, milling around and muttering amongst themselves. The hubbub was at a dull roar, and no one seemed to notice their arrival; all attention was mostly focused on the door. Venus huddled against one wall, surrounded by a group of her female Cipher Peons, sobbing hysterically.

"Hang on—" Wes began.

Shady grabbed the nearest Cipher Peon by his scarf, yanking him forward. "What's going on?" he repeated menacingly.

Wes resisted the urge to sigh.

The Peon was startled, and he sounded nervous. "Oh, um, Master Evice has been murdered."

"_What_?" Shady snapped, and Wes asked at the same time.

Wes was taken aback. The news and turn of events was so sudden that all he could do was merely stare.

"By who?" demanded Shady. It was dangerous how thinly-veiled his pleasure was.

"Masters Nascour and Ein are inside the room. The door's jammed. Master Nascour said that it was a traitor," the Peon reported, trying to edge away. "Master Nascour killed the traitor, though."

Shady kept a tight grip on the Peon's scarf, and shot a glance to Wes. Wes shrugged slightly.

"So it was just a Peon?" Shady asked, turning back to the Peon in his grasp.

The man nodded frantically, and at last Shady let go. The Peon scrambled to disappear into the crowd and put distance between himself and the twins.

"Try not to sound too pleased, alright?" Wes muttered, eyes scanning through the crowd. They were too late. Ein must have already taken Rui inside the room.

"I can't help it if I'm not emotionless like you," Shady gloated, clearly enjoying himself and the prospect of Evice being dead, "must be some kind of glitch."

"Now you're glad to be a clone?" Wes asked dryly, and that shut Shady up.

The crowd suddenly thinned and dispersed as Dakim arrived from the opposite hallway, striding right up to the supposedly jammed door. Everyone watched as the massive man drew back a fist.

A large, meaty hand dropped onto his shoulder and clamped down. Wes tried to twist around as Shady started in surprise, to see who had come up behind him.

"Well," Gonzap breathed into his ear, "I suppose I'm not surprised. Rats like to run together."

Dakim's fist shattered the door to the workroom in a single blow.

* * *

Rui and May stumbled out of the lab into the bright sunlight, blinking wildly as the glare of the sun hit their eyes; it was only early morning but the sun on the desert was already hot and bright. May hissed and immediately backed into some shade on the side of the building, but then looked startled by her own reaction.

"May," Rui panted, her heart beating wildly, "We have—to go back—for Wes—"

"Yeah," May agreed weakly, "But what's wrong with me?"

"They somehow turned you Shadow," Rui admitted, her breathing slowing. Luckily for them, no guard was present outside of the lab at the moment, so they could rest for a moment. "I'm sorry, May."

May merely laughed. "I'd be afraid, but seeing as I've never seen a Shadow Pokemon before, I can't really understand."

Rui gave her a faint smile. She was interested to notice that May's Shadow Aura had weakened at May's laugh. Even originally, it hadn't been as dark or angry as Shady's Aura had been. Maybe it was because May had originally been a happier person than Shady? Rui wondered at the possibilities briefly. Obviously a Shadow human would be much different than a Shadow Pokemon…humans had feelings and emotions…Perhaps that was what affected the Shadow Aura.

Pushing those thoughts away for later speculation, Rui turned back towards the entrance to the lab. "Come on. If we're quick, we can get Wes out quickly while everyone is still waiting outside of Ein's door."

May, however, faced the sky to the east. "Brenden!"

Rui followed May's gaze to see two dots in racing towards them in the sky. As they drew closer, Rui could make out a white-haired Trainer on his Swellow, along with a gray-haired Trainer on a Skarmory. It didn't take long for the two to reach the lab, both of them swooping down for a graceful landing, recalling their Pokemon in the same motion.

"Brenden! Steven!" May flung herself at the two new arrivals, happy to see them.

Brenden grinned and hugged her back, while the other Trainer—Steven—patted her on the back almost awkwardly, with a nervous-looking smile. Rui hung back shyly, but she also felt slightly impatient; Wes was still inside. She also couldn't help but notice that May's Shadow Aura shrunk considerably—maybe that was the key.

"I'm so glad to see you guys!" May proclaimed, stepping back. She had the grace to blush slightly at her greeting. "I was worried about you, Brenden. But I see you weren't off too bad if you could bring Steven back with you."

"We'll explain later," Brenden promised. "I was worried about you too."

May looked back at Rui. "Rui, this is Steven—"

"—whose butt I kicked in order to become Champion," Brenden broke in with another grin.

Steven ignored him, and stepped forward and held out his hand. "Honored to meet you, Rui. Brenden was able to explain to me a little of what you've accomplished. Kudos to you."

Rui couldn't help but give a small smile as she shook the former Champion's hand. He seemed like an easy-going man; relatively young despite his light gray hair.

"Thank you," she replied politely, "but if we could all hurry…"

"Wes is still in there!" May said at once, picking up on what Rui meant. "Hurry!"

* * *

Wes felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head and the freezing liquid was now trickling down his spine. As Dakim swept the remains of the door aside, Gonzap shoved both him and Shady forward, keeping a hand on their shoulders as he pushed through the crowd.

"Everyone keep back!" he snarled, and no one needed to be told twice. Peons and Grunts hurried out of the way as Gonzap and the other Admins approached the doorway.

Wes was shoved through the doorway first, followed closely by Shady. He recoiled at once, his stomach lurching, as the scene inside came into view.

Blood was everywhere in the lab room, and the room stank of death. The bodies of Evice and a Cipher Peon both lay in heaps on the floor, drenched in blood. Miror B. cowered against one wall, while Ein and Nascour stood near the back of the room, glaring murderously at one another.

Wes's eyes automatically swept around the room, searching vainly for Rui, as Gonzap, Venus, and Dakim filed into the room behind him. Rui was nowhere to be seen. His heart was caught in his throat.

No one paid any attention to Venus as she let loose an ear-shattering scream and fainted on the spot at the sight of Evice's dead body.

"How could you let them escape?" roared Nascour, his cool completely lost. "Two teenage girls, and both of you let them _waltz _out of this lab?"

Wes's interest picked up. Rui had escaped? Warm relief flooded through him, and the feeling of icy water faded. Rui was safe.

"I didn't see you try to stop them," Ein retorted. Though his voice was no louder than usual, he looked, if possible, even angrier than Nascour did. "The fact that the girl we already turned Shadow figured out how to use some kind of form of Shadow Rush was not predicted and therefore there was nothing any of us could have done."

Wes felt the cold feeling coming back. Ein had turned someone else Shadow? May…?

"What's going on here?" demanded Gonzap, his loud voice finally alerting Ein and Nascour to their presence.

Wes glanced sideways at Shady. The clone had gone very still, and was staring at Ein with the strangest expression on his face. Not a good sign.

"Him." Nascour's maddened eyes locked onto Wes. "Use him instead. Do it now."

Gonzap's grip on his shoulder tightened. "What?"

Ein raised a hand; holding up a doctor's shot lazily. "Very well. Hold him still, Gonzap."

Wes unfroze, struggling wildly—he did not want that needle near himself. Gonzap frowned, nearly crushing Wes's shoulder with his hand. "What's that, there, Ein? What's going on?"

"Do not question us," Nascour said coldly, looking on dispassionately. "Keep him still."

As Ein drew near, Shady came to life as well. "I hate you! I hate you! _I fucking hate you_!" He twisted wildly in Gonzap's grip, straining towards Ein.

Ein paused for a half-second, giving Shady a pitying smile. "You hate me for giving you life? Ungrateful child."

If anything, his words infuriated Shady more, who howled as he fought Gonzap's grip. It wouldn't be long before his Shadow Aura erupted like it had in the cell room.

"Knock him out, Dakim," Ein ordered calmly, "his tantrum is making my head hurt."

But Wes was beyond caring; Ein was still coming towards him with the doctor's shot poised. Gonzap looked completely startled as both of his minions struggled violently, and Dakim looked unsure as what to do as he watched Shady writhe. Finally he drew back his fist and punched, letting Shady drop like a stone.

"_No_—" There was nothing Wes could do to avoid the swift jab to his arm, and suddenly the needle was in him, allowing the liquid inside to drain into his bloodstream. His breath became short and jagged, and the world suddenly rocked and swirled.

Wes had one last, barely coherent thought as he sagged to the ground and fainted—at least Rui was safe, and that was all that mattered anymore.


	29. Shadow Rise

Woo hoo, boys and girls.

* * *

"The lack of severely undereducated lackeys is unnerving me," Steven admitted as they jogged through the pristine hallway. True to his word, the hallway was in fact completely void of all lab personnel. "What's happening here? Where is everyone?"

"Brenden explained everything, right?" May asked.

Steven nodded.

"Nascour just shot Evice," Rui informed them all, leading the way. "So pretty much everyone in the building is down by Ein's room, trying to figure out what happened. Nascour framed a Peon, though, so no one knows it's him."

Brenden let out a low whistle as he ran. "Is everyone going completely crazy here, or is it just me?"

"Must be the heat," Steven observed mildly.

"And guess what? I'm a Shadow Pokemon," May added with a weak laugh, looking slightly nervous.

"What?" Brenden demanded.

"Here!" Rui came to a stop outside of the cell room. The door slid open compliantly to admit them into the room.

Just as the hallways were empty, so was the cell room. There was nothing left in the cell except a dried, bloody smear on the ground—Wes was long gone.

"It's empty!" May's face fell.

Rui paled. "If Wes isn't here, then where is he?"

"You said everyone is down by Ein's room?" Steven asked, attempting to control the situation. "Do you think he would be brought down there for some reason?"

Rui blanched further. "Nascour wanted to see someone get turned Shadow. They were going to do it to me, but May and I escaped…" She trailed off, and suddenly the full meaning of her words sunk in.

Brenden's eyes widened slightly. "Oh shit."

**

* * *

**

Nascour paced back and forth slowly, some of his usual composure regained. Venus, Miror B., Dakim, and Gonzap were situated about the work room, watching him silently. Ein half-ignored them, supervising the few top, more trusted Peons who had been selected to clean up the bloody mess of the two bodies in his lab. Shady, still out cold from Dakim's punch, was strapped down to the examination table Wes had once been bound to.

"To summarize, Shady is a clone generated from the DNA collected from Wes. He was grown in order to be the first subject of the latest version of the Shadow Pokemon Converter Machine, which Ein has reformatted so that it has the ability to give humans the qualities of Shadow." Nascour's voice was completely emotionless, and he continued to pace slowly as he spoke. "Ein and I were conducting these tests and experiments without Evice's knowledge." Now contempt crept into his voice as he sneered. "Evice had Cipher entirely at his disposal, and yet his goals were so simple and never reached as far as he should of. As he _could_ of. He was not fit to run such an organization, and this is why I disposed of him. Now, you either move forward with us, or you may stay behind with Evice."

He turned back to face each of the Cipher Admins and Gonzap, awaiting their responses.

Dakim cleared his throat; a rumbling volcano. "Cipher is my employer. Cipher will continue to be my employer."

Miror B. struck a pose, nodding vigorously and causing his outrageous hair to bob wildly. "The music shall play! Let's get it on!"

"I will follow Ein," Venus announced, her eyes shining as she threw a dramatic glance at the scientist who was no longer even pretending to pay attention, snapping at a Peon who wasn't cleaning to his standards. Venus seemed to have completely forgotten that she had fainted at the sight of Evice's body.

Gonzap still looked displeased. "You've been experimenting on _my_ Team member?" he demanded. "And you're turning my other one Shadow right now?"

Nascour gave a faint smirk. "That is what I just said. But Shady was never fully _yours_—he is the property of this lab. We let you borrow him in order to help draw Wes in, so we could work perfectly in sync with Evice's plans for 'revenge.' And you are correct—Wes is being converted to Shadow as we speak."

"But _Wes _is mine," Gonzap snapped, banging his fist on the countertop.

"Do not damage my lab," hissed Ein as the nearby equipment rattled, but then turned back to the cleaning Peons.

"Of course," Nascour answered pleasantly. "He swore back into your Team, did he not? But Cipher still has some rights to him. Just because we weren't going to go along with Evice's plans for revenge doesn't mean we're going to completely pardon him for what he did to Cipher."

Gonzap growled beneath his breath, but he seemed to be considering.

"As soon as Wes is completely Shadow, we'll run tests on him and see how the procedure is coming along," Nascour said briskly, ignoring the Team Boss for now. "Our goal, like in the Shadow Pokemon scheme, is to begin mass production. World domination will be much easier, I think, with closed-heart humans rather than closed-heart animals." A slightly mad glint entered his eyes. "And of course, we'll be on top. Under Evice, we were weak, but now we will be strong."

"And what happens to Shady?" asked Venus out of curiosity, peering at the unconscious, red-coated clone.

Nascour's answering smile lacked all warmth. "He is our first subject. Ein will run tests on him, testing the limits of the Shadow abilities and functions, and then he will be disposed of. He is, after all, just a clone."

No one spoke.

"And Wes?" Gonzap demanded, breaking the icy silence.

Nascour eyed him slyly. "He's your Team member, is he not? That's up to you, once we're finished with him."

Gonzap grinned stupidly, walking right into the situation Nascour had laid out. "Then Cipher still has Team Snagem's backing," he announced at last.

Nascour merely gave an eerie smile. "Excellent."

**

* * *

**

"It'll do no good to just run in there," Steven comforted Rui gently. "With every Peon in the building in that general area, we'd just be captured." He paused. "Even if we are too late, you say there's a way to Purify those inflicted with these Shadow Auras?"

Rui nodded, though her pretty blue eyes remained downcast. "Maybe…"

"Tell us," Steven encouraged, while May and Brenden nodded.

Rui looked up, meeting her friends' gazes. She took a deep, shaky breath. "When Wes and I would capture a Shadow Pokemon, I could tell how far its heart was closed—that's the mechanics of a Shadow Pokemon: they have artificially closed hearts. At first, the Shadow Aura would be really dark, and very strong. But as Wes battled with the Pokemon, and I talked and played with it, the Aura would gradually lessen, until I could barely see it."

"You were opening its heart back up," May said, "with kindness."

Rui nodded. "Right. Once the Shadow Aura was almost completely gone, Wes and I would take the Pokemon to Relic Forest in Agate Village. In the forest, there's a stone called the Relic Stone. If a Shadow Pokemon was near the stone, the final gate to its heart would be broken, and its heart would become completely open."

"I've heard of the Relic Stone," Steven commented quietly, looking thoughtful. "It's said to be a point in time where Celebi is known to appear."

Rui gave another nod. "Yes. We've seen Celebi. Through our travels, Wes and I collected items called Time Flutes. When Wes played one of the Time Flutes near the Relic Stone, Celebi actually appeared, and completely Purified one of the most recent Shadow Pokemon that Wes had caught. It was amazing."

"You've seen Celebi?" May looked envious. "My father would kill to have Celebi's data on his Pokedex."

"Do you have any more of the Time Flutes left?" Brenden asked.

"We used all the ones we had to Purify the last of the Shadow Pokemon," Rui admitted. "But it is one sight I'll never forget." She paused, thinking. "Shady, May, and now maybe Wes are all Shadow _humans_…"

"Yeah, how'd that happen?" demanded Brenden, looking slightly alarmed.

May quickly explained how after she had fainted due to Nascour's Xatu's Hypnosis attack, she didn't remember anything until she had woken up in the cell Rui had found her in, concluding that they must have changed her while she had been unconscious. Looking worried, Brenden explained how he had been practically gift wrapped for Maxie and Archie, and then how Steven had saved him and decided to accompany him back to Orre.

"So should I go hang out by that rock, and hopefully get Purified?" May asked, joking weakly.

Rui shook her head. "I think humans are a bit different than Pokemon," she admitted. "Well, not by much."

"What's on your mind, Rui?" Steven asked gently. "You've been watching May a lot."

"I can see her Shadow Aura," Rui explained. "And I could see Shady's, too. I've been trying to figure out why they are different."

"Different?" May asked.

"With Shadow Pokemon, all their Shadow Auras were the same, from start to finish. But while Shady's Shadow Aura is _black_, it's so dark; May's is more of a lighter purple color. May, your Aura is much weaker than Shady's already, even though you're both at the same stage of the Shadow process."

"Why do you think that is?" prodded Steven.

"Well…" Rui hesitated, gathering her thoughts. "May, when you ran to greet Brenden and Steven, your Aura weakened considerably. The Shadow Aura of the Pokemon weakened as we gave them attention and kindness, like you said. But with you—or _humans_—it's much more subjective, I think. Pokemon have natures—attitudes—and they do have a basic set of emotions, but no one beats humans when it comes to feelings—we're all so emotional, be it good or bad. You were so happy and relieved to see Brenden and Steven, and that was such a strong emotion, so your heart opened up a lot, and the Aura weakened."

Brenden nodded. "So it's harder for a human to stay completely Shadow for long, compared to a Pokemon, then."

"Yes." More confident, Rui continued. "I don't even think a Shadow human would need to visit Relic Forest in order to be completely Purified. Human emotions are just that much more powerful."

May grinned. "So you all just have to make me as happy as possible, alright? You can start now."

Brenden gave her a sour look. "This isn't funny."

"And Shady?" Steven asked, though he shot May a faint grin.

"Shady…" Rui trailed. "Well…I think that his Aura is stronger because he isn't a naturally happy person like May is. He's very violent and angry, so his Shadow Aura is intensified by all that negative emotion."

"May's happy-go-lucky, so she gets off easy." Brenden grinned.

May stuck her tongue out at him.

Rui managed a smile. "Your Aura weakened again, May."

May smiled broadly. "All the stuff you've been saying concerning my 'Shadow-ness' has been good for me, so far, so I'm feeling pretty good—worried for Wes, of course, but feeling good."

"How do you think Wes will react?" Steven asked. He looked apologetic. "Sorry, Rui, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that they're planning to turn him Shadow if they haven't already."

Rui nodded, swallowing a lump that had risen in her throat. "Yeah. And I don't know."

_I just want to be there for him._

* * *

He was pissed.

Why was he pissed…? He couldn't remember much. Every single part of his body hurt, and other than the pain all he felt was a deep, churning rage that was boiling beneath his skin and, now that he was conscious, threatening to overwhelm everything else. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet and he felt like he had to kill something.

"_I hate you! I hate you! _I fucking hate you_!"_

A memory. Returning slowly, but coming back nonetheless. Had that been him screaming? It was certainly his voice.

But no…

Shady. Shady kicking and screaming, fighting against the behemoth Dakim's unbreakable hold. And Ein was coming toward him, needle in hand, and there was a sudden sharp pain in his arm and—

Wes opened his eyes.

The room was dark. He was lying on the floor, sprawled out limply on his back. The room was small, with no windows and only one door. It was the side room to Ein's main lab. No light came from beneath the crack of the door—the lab was empty. He was alone.

He wanted to move; to sit up and then maybe make it to his knees, but the anger was crushing. He felt like if he moved, he wouldn't be able to stop. The first person he saw, he'd kill.

_Why am I so angry?_

He tried to think, but rage was clouding his thoughts. All he wanted was revenge. Someone would pay for this.

Pay for what?

Then it hit him. The anger…the rage…

Ein had turned him Shadow. He was no better than the angry Pokemon he'd Snagged years ago. Just like Shady, he'd been turned into a monster.

That sobering thought caused the rage to dissipate inside of him, though only a little. Most of it was still there, boiling steadily beneath his skin, but at least he had rational thought. He was too level-headed to snap like Shady did.

He wasn't sure how long he could last, though.

Wes sat up, not surprised when the world spun wildly for a moment, before evening out. Once he was sure the dizzy spell was over, he dragged himself into a crouch, and then pushed himself to his feet, a list of objectives forming in his mind.

One. Find Espeon and Umbreon. His trusted companions were no longer located at his belt in their Pokeballs; someone must have removed them before they'd shoved him into the SPCM. If they'd been turned into Shadow too, Wes figured that he really _would_ kill someone.

Two. Find Shady. He couldn't have been far. Now that Wes remembered correctly, Dakim had knocked the clone out. As much as he disliked Shady, Wes knew that the clone would be essential when coming up with a way to blow the lab to hell and beyond.

He'd figure out how to get rid of him later.

Three. Find Rui. She was the most important, after Espeon and Umbreon. He had to assure her safety. If she was hurt or worse, there was no doubt—someone would die. Plain and simple.

Had he been in the right state of mind, Wes wouldn't have liked how calmly his thoughts turned to killing. They were way too close to his original mindset; back when he'd been a proud member of Team Snagem. He'd given up that train of thought a long time ago, but now he was reverting back to it.

Still. Rui was Rui. If she was killed, then he'd find a way to die too. Plain and simple.

Four. Blow the Shadow Pokemon Lab to hell and beyond.

Wes looked at the lone door that led to Ein's lab room. He didn't have to try the knob to know that it was locked. Fortunately or not, he now had other means of escape.

He couldn't see it himself, but he was positive that he was surrounded by the tell-tale aura of Shadow. If Shady could use the aura to slam him against a wall and nearly suffocate him, then Wes was fairly certain he could use his own aura to break down a door.

Wes narrowed his eyes at the door. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt slightly ridiculous, but he pushed those thoughts away. He needed to be angry. He needed to be _furious_.

He thought of Rui, hurt and alone somewhere. He thought of Espeon and Umbreon, both whose fates were unknown to him. And then he thought of Gonzap, Nascour, and Ein, the three people who were responsible for it all.

With a near growl, Wes shoved his anger forward, whipping his Shadow aura towards the door—his own personal version of the attack Shadow Rush. The door splintered.

He had a sudden burst of relief that it had worked, but quickly channeled his emotion into anger that it hadn't completely blown down the door on first attempt—he had to get out of here.

On the second blow, the door crumbled, swinging out limply on its hinges. Wes stood stock-still for a moment, listening intently. The noise of the door breaking hadn't been quiet, but the lab still remained dark. Carefully, he pushed his way out, allowing his eyes to adjust to the larger dark room.

Well. Objective Two had been cleared with little effort on his part. Shady was strapped down to one of the stainless steel tables, much like Wes himself had been days ago. The clone was still unconscious, but there were ways to fix that.

Wes went over to him, making short work of the bindings holding him down to the table. Then with all his might, he kicked Shady off of the table.

The clone was awake as soon as he hit the floor with an ungraceful thud. "What the hell was that for?" His glare was murderous as soon as he blinked awake, finding Wes's face in an instant.

"For being an asshole," Wes answered, glaring right back, "and a weakling after all that tough talk. You couldn't do a _thing_, and now I'm Shadow like you are."

"You think I give a fuck about you?" Shady growled, picking himself up. Wes imagined that his aura was dark and menacing, growing stronger with Shady's anger.

"You need me." Wes reminded him, confident that his was just as dangerous. For the briefest of seconds, he envied Rui—now would be the perfect time to have her ability to see the auras. "We have an agreement, remember?"

"Yes," Shady snapped, folding his arms, "and coming to save _Rui_—" he said her name with a sneer of contempt, "—was your idea, so it's your own damn fault you got turned Shadow."

"While you got your ass kicked without putting up a fight?" Wes sneered, half-aware of the fact that perhaps he was going a bit far. "If you're not going to hold up your end of the deal, I might just leave you here."

Shady pulled his gun on him faster than he could blink. In complete opposition of what Wes had expected—a burst of utter rage—Shady had gone deathly calm. "If you even try, I won't give you a chance. I'll blow your fucking head off."

Wes stared him down, completely still. "So what's it gonna be?"

"Unfortunately"—Shady glared at him—"you're right. I need you. Or rather, your knowledge. So, it's going to be this. We tried rescuing your little girlfriend, but that obviously was a failed attempt. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to live now that they've got _you_ as a Shadow, so you're going to either tell me where to go or lead me to the place where you get your explosives _now_."

"No way I'm just telling you."

Shady merely smirked. "Then you'd better start leading, Wes." He jerked his gun, still holding it level at Wes's face.

"No, Rui's still here in the lab, we have to find her—"

"I don't care." Shady's smirk was savage now. "If we get caught again, it's all over. Ein will experiment me to death, and you've been dead meat from the start. It's now or never. We have to escape while we can."

"And once you get the explosives?" Wes hissed angrily, literally feeling his Shadow aura grow. "You'll come right back here and blow the lab up instantly? I don't think so. We have to get Rui out of here first, that's the whole point!"

"I'll give you ten minutes." Shady's eyes, a reflection of his own, were icy calm. "Once we get back here with enough explosives to blow this place sky high, I'll give you ten minutes to get in, get the damn girl, and get out. Then I press the button."

Wes sneered again. "How will I know you won't detonate everything the second I go—"

"You'll just have to trust me, won't you?" Shady smirked.

Wes glared at him. He felt like anger was coming off of him in waves; his aura must have been inches from Shady's face, judging by how he felt like tearing into him. A calmer, cooler part of his mind was warning him—he might've had the powers of Shadow, but Shady still had a gun—but most of his mind was so focused on ripping into the clone before him, his vision was almost red.

He was still and silent as the two parts of his mind struggled and argued with one another. Finally, miraculously, his level-headed side won: once again, his anger cooled somewhat, coming down to a low simmer.

Half-shaken by the dramatic personality change that the Shadow aura had afflicted him with, Wes inwardly shook himself. Back when he'd been a proud Snagger of Team Snagem, he'd been famous for always keeping a cool head no matter what the situation, be it in the thick of a Pokemon battle or a chase through the desert. Now he needed to focus on keeping that cool more than ever—if he let himself explode and allowed his anger and the Shadow aura to take over, he had a feeling that he'd do more damage than even Shady.

Shady seemed to notice a change in his expression, because he lowered the gun, tucking it back into his jacket. "Come on," he ordered, turning away, "let's get going. We're getting out of this lab, and you're taking me directly to your source of explosives. We'll work out the details of our plan on the way."

Wes wasn't happy with how things had just gone, but he followed Shady anyway—like the clone had said, they'd work out the details on the way.

And still, it felt a little good to be back in business again.

* * *

**Note:** Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Espeon and Umbreon.

You guys all hate me, don't you? :D


	30. Shadow Run

**So I herd u liek updatez~ **

* * *

Rui looked up sharply as the alarm started going off, blaring loudly as the lights turned red and began to flash slowly. Outside in the hallway, footsteps could be heard rushing past and Rui instinctively froze—what if someone thought to check the cell room?

"What's going on?" May asked above the sound of the alarm. "_We_ didn't set that off, did we?"

"I don't think so," Steven replied, looking sure, "we've been in here for too long. If they were going to detect us, it would have been much sooner than now."

"Then who _did_ set it off?" Brenden asked. He suddenly looked hopeful. "Do you think maybe Wes…?"

"We have no way to know for certain," Steven said quickly, glancing at Rui. The redhead looked tired and troubled. "One thing we do know for certain, though. We need to take advantage of the confusion the alarm has caused."

"Yeah, but do we keep looking for Wes or do we escape?" May looked between them all dubiously.

"If Wes isn't here, then he's got to be in Ein's lab." Brenden said matter-of-factly. He did not, however, offer his opinion.

"Rui?" Steven asked gently. "What do you want to do?"

Rui looked up, as if listening to the conversation for the first time. Her pretty eyes were exhausted.

"We'll stick behind you no matter what," the ex-Hoenn Champion continued, giving her a soft smile, "so don't worry about us."

Brenden offered her a grin of his own, and cheeky May gave her a winning smile with a thumbs-up.

Rui's eyes threatened to water. All three of them were selflessly putting themselves in danger just to help her. They reminded her of Wes back when he had been Snagging the Shadow Pokemon—he'd never had a thought for himself; all that had mattered to him was opening their hearts.

"May, I promise we'll find a way to fix you," Rui said, meeting her eyes sincerely, "but right now, we have to find Wes."

"Don't worry about me!" May said with another grin. "Let's go save us a Snagger!"

Despite herself, Rui gave a faint smile. "Your Shadow Aura is nearly gone now, May."

"Really? Great!"

"I always knew you were way too cheerful, May." Brenden said, but he sounded relieved.

"We need to get going," Steven reminded them, already by the door, "whatever's going on around here isn't going to last forever. Let's move."

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, they ducked out of the cell room, hurrying down the hall through the lab.

* * *

Wes and Shady made it through most of the lab without incident. The halls were empty; evidently the complication of Evice's murder had resulted in a reorganization lull that still had yet to lift. With luck, the Admins would be up to their necks in petty corporate ladder business for quite awhile, allowing them the time they needed to set their plan into motion.

Not that they had a plan. Shady hadn't spoken a single word since they'd slipped out of Ein's lab room, and Wes hadn't exactly gotten around to starting up conversation again. He still followed behind his clone, struggling silently with his raging emotions brought about by his conversion to Shadow.

They were in the home stretch, headed towards the elevator that would take them up to the first floor of the lab, when their troubles began.

Evidently not everyone had abandoned their post, and a Cipher Peon still stood guard near the elevator doors. He straightened up as soon as he saw them approaching, eyeing them warily from beneath his dark visor.

"Let me handle this." Shady shot a sadistic grin over his shoulder before advancing towards the peon.

"Shady—" Wes stopped, holding back a sigh. There was no point in arguing with him.

"You're not supposed to be here!" To his credit, the Peon's voice wavered only a little as they drew nearer. "Turn back now, or I'll set off the alarm!" He inched closer to the great red button on the wall beside the elevator doors.

"Turn back?" Shady sneered. "You think I'm afraid of _you_, or—"

The Peon smashed his gloved fist through the glass covering the button and slammed it down with a grim smile, causing the lights in the lab to dim and turn red, flashing slowly as the alarm shrieked.

"Good job." Wes snapped, his anger swelling up far more than it normally would have as he came up beside Shady. "Now the entire organization will be right behind us."

"Who cares," Shady snarled, rounding on him, "maybe that'll make it more fun."

"This isn't about _fun_—" Wes stopped again, shaking his head and blinking. He fought the deep anger and rage, trying his hardest to push it back as he brought his hands up to his temples. This wasn't him; this wasn't who he wanted to be—

"Whatever." Shady whirled back to the peon when Wes remained silent, a dangerous smile crossing his features. "I'll just take care of this piece of shit and we'll be on our way."

The Peon's legs shook.

**

* * *

**

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Usually you're the one taking my experiments from me, not returning them, little girl."

Rui remained frozen, standing close together with May, Brenden, and Steven. They were completely surrounded by both Cipher Peons and Team Snagem Grunts, with Ein himself at the forefront, eyeing them lazily with sardonic amusement, one hand resting thoughtfully on his chin. Throughout the lab, the alarm still blared at the lights still flashed, washing everything in a dull, red light.

"You aren't touching May." Brenden glared at the scientist, one hand on May's shoulder while the other rested on one of the Pokeballs at his belt.

Ein smiled idly, though his eyes remained cold. "That remains to be seen." His gaze snapped past them when another Team Snagem Grunt ran up, panting and out of breath. "Report."

"We think they've—they've escaped, Master Ein," the Grunt heaved out, "the Peon guarding the door—he's been—completely destroyed—"

"Incompetent fools, all of you!" Ein barked, losing his composure completely. "Leave someone behind to clean up the mess, but the rest of you get after them _now_!"

The Grunt didn't bother responding, turning and sprinting back down the hall he'd come from. The grunts and peons who remained shifted nervously.

"Was it Wes who escaped?" Rui spoke up, hardly daring to hope. Perhaps the Snagger had escaped before he'd been turned into a Shadow.

Ein seemed to compose himself, replying smoothly, "It won't make any difference to you, little girl."

"Tell us!" May cried, her eyes fiery. "Tell us _right now_!" Rui watched her Shadow Aura swell for a moment, before settling when Brenden took her hand.

Ein studied her for a moment. "Is your temper normally so short?"

"Just tell us." Brenden narrowed his eyes again as he looked back at the scientist.

"Yes, it was Wes and Shady who escaped," Ein answered blandly, sounding as if he couldn't be bothered about the matter despite his outburst only moments before, "which is a real pity, seeing as they should both know by now that attempting to escape is futile."

Rui's heart both lifted and sank at the same time—Wes had escaped, but it also meant that she had led May, Brenden, and Steven down into the lab and deeper into danger for nothing. Bitterly, she realized that they must have just missed Wes by minutes, if not seconds.

"No matter," Ein continued indifferently, unaware of Rui's thoughts, "with their Shadow Auras, they will be easy enough to track."

Rui's eyes widened. "Wes is…?"

"You turned Wes into a Shadow human?" Steven asked steadily when Rui's voice failed.

"Steven Stone." Ein sized the former Hoenn Champion up thoughtfully, as if noticing him for the first time. "I once interned for Devon Corporation. But that was long ago."

"Did you or did you not turn Wes into a Shadow human?" Steven repeated unblinkingly.

Ein gave a razor sharp smile. "Yes. Wes has been converted. Rather successfully, I might add, as he's already developed a fairly strong Shadow Rush judging by the door he bashed down in my lab."

"No," Rui whispered in horror, "not Wes."

"It's okay, Rui," May assured her, "if I can be fixed, so can Wes! We'll all figure this out together."

"That will be quite impossible." Ein regarded them dryly. "Wes and Shady are being hunted down as we speak and will be detained. You all, however, are in a predicament of your own." His gaze flickered past them once again.

"I was wondering where you were, Ein." Gonzap pushed his way roughly through the Peons and Grunts. "Thought you were taking your damn time down here even though you let those two little shits escape."

"I've made quite the catch." Ein gestured to Rui, May, Brenden, and Steven calmly. His tone grew icy. "Be careful what you accuse me of, Gonzap. I no more let them escape than you allowed them to."

The Team Snagem Boss met the Cipher Admin's gaze, and for a moment, the hallway was deathly still. Finally Gonzap snorted. "Whatever. I don't care." His voice was a low growl. "All I want to know is when you'll be done with Wes, because I'm going to rip him limb from limb."

May put an arm around Rui when the redhead shivered.

"All in good time, Gonzap." Ein answered him casually, not even batting an eye.

Gonzap's eyes settled on Rui. "In the meantime, I want her."

"Fine by me," Ein allowed with a nod, "just don't kill her yet."

"No!" May glared up at the Snagem Boss as he reached for Rui's arm. "She's staying with us!"

Brenden pulled his Pokeball off his belt, ready to release his Swampert inside, but before he could even toss the ball Gonzap pulled a gun out of his vest, shoving the barrel against Rui's head as he pulled her away from May with one meaty hand.

"Your chickenshit Teams in Hoenn might do things a little differently," he snarled, clicking off the safety, "but this is how we do things in Orre."

"I'm s-sorry," Rui said tearfully to her friends, "I'm sorry I lead y-you all into this—"

"It's not your fault, Rui." May answered her stoutly, but she gave Gonzap a glare, her Shadow Aura spiking again. "If you hurt her—"

"I'm not going to hurt her," Gonzap snapped, dragging Rui away as he kept his gun against her head, "I'm going to use her as bait."

* * *

Wes and Shady arrived at the entrance to Pyrite in the blink of an eye, thanks to Shady possessing an Alakazam with the handy Teleport move. Cipher Peons and Team Snagem Grunts had pursued them out of the lab, and they'd managed to escape them for now, but Wes knew better than to think that the coast was clear—it was only a matter of time before they caught up again.

"So where are we going?" Shady demanded as he recalled his Pokemon back into its Pokeball. He'd wanted to stay and take a few of the Peons and Grunts out, and it'd taken all of Wes's patience to not smear his clone across the wall of the lab instead, as Shady had done with the Peon guarding the elevator.

Wes was already heading into town, walking quickly. Seeing that Shady had somehow gotten a hold of his Pokemon again made him wonder where Espeon and Umbreon were being held, and whether or not they'd been turned into Shadow Pokemon. It was his best guess that either way, Gonzap probably had them in his greasy clutches and getting them back again would be no small feat. It was a dangerous gamble, escaping the lab with Shady while Gonzap and the rest of Cipher still had his Pokemon and Rui.

His anger flared up as he walked. If they hadn't allowed the Peon to sound the alarm, it would have bought them at least a little more time before anyone noticed that he and Shady were gone. But now it was too late and—

He was suddenly slammed against the wall of a building, the air whooshing out of his lungs. Shady glared at him as he pressed Wes back with his hands. "I said, are you_ fucking_ listening to me? Where the hell are we going?"

Wes didn't need his hands in order to fight back; he merely slammed into Shady with his Shadow Aura, just like he'd slammed into the door back in Ein's lab. The clone stumbled backwards, unready for the attack—evidently, he hadn't quite figured out how to control his own Shadow Aura like Wes had. His anger intensifying, Wes pushed him back again, hitting him so hard that he was knocked completely off his feet. Shady hit the ground but rolled over, pulling out his gun and pointing it at Wes.

Wes stopped at the sight of the firearm. What the hell was he doing? Fortunately they were in Pyrite, where no one looked twice when a fight in the streets broke out, but still—only a few seconds ago, he'd been ready to smash Shady's face in, and while he had no love for the clone, Wes didn't actually want to kill him.

At the moment, anyway.

He turned away, rubbing his head again. He _couldn't_ let his anger get away from him, or he and Shady were both going to end up dead. "We're going to the Under," he said over his shoulder, "so put your gun away and get up." He started off again, unwilling to give Shady an opportunity to continue the fight.

The clone climbed to his feet, quickly catching up. "What the hell is your problem?" he hissed, drawing even with Wes. "It was just a question. I need to be sure you aren't leading me to a dead end."

"Right now both of our lives are headed for a dead end unless we destroy that lab," Wes bit back bitterly, "so no, I'm not trying to back us into an even tighter corner."

Shady shoved his gun back into his coat. "Fine." He sounded annoyed but fortunately he at least seemed to grasp the concept that they didn't have time to stand around and argue or fight.

They made their way through Pyrite, moving quickly but drawing strange looks from the Trainers that still hung around Battle Square when they passed through. Wes kept his eyes glued to the dirty pavement, unwilling to stop for a conversation with those who might have recognized them—besides, it wasn't like he could battle at the moment, let alone had time for one. They were left alone, though he was ready to attribute that to the fact that Shady sent out blazing glares to anyone who dared to look their way longer than a second.

The old Pyrite Building was desolate as ever but Wes pushed his way inside, followed closely by Shady. The cluttered hallway was empty, so they made their way back to the huge elevator lift without incident, stepping onto the rusted iron sheets as the gate creaked shut behind them.

Wes hit the button and they descended down into the Under.

**

* * *

**

Rui sat quietly in Gonzap's office, her hands on her knees as she looked down at the floor, trying her hardest not to tremble. The Snagem Boss had shoved her into the room not long before, threatening the lives of her friends if she didn't stay put, before slamming the door shut, leaving her alone.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be waiting for, but at the moment she could hardly spare a thought for herself—she could only think of May, Brenden, and Steven, and then of course of Wes.

When thinking about the Hoenn Trainers, all Rui could feel was guilt. No matter what May said, it was still her fault that they'd been captured. If only she hadn't insisted on going deeper into the lab, if only they'd been quicker in deciding their course of action, and maybe they would have run into Wes as he'd made his own escape…

If something happened to any of them, she was never going to forgive herself.

Thinking about Wes just made her frightened for him. He'd been converted into a Shadow human, just like Shady and May. While Wes didn't possess the same amount of rage as his clone, he certainly wasn't naturally a bright and happy person like May. Rui wondered how well her Snagger was coping with his emotions, now that his heart had been artificially closed. She hoped desperately that he was okay, and that he'd been able to give the Cipher Peons and Team Snagem Grunts the slip, even though Ein had seemed very certain about his recapture.

All she really wanted to do was see him again, safe and unharmed.

Rui stiffened when she heard voices in the hallway approaching, but relaxed slightly when it became clear they were only Peons, complaining about the amount of orders that had been coming down from the Admins lately. They passed by the door to Gonzap's office, and Rui was left gratefully alone again.

She looked around the small office, wondering if there was anything that she could do in her current position. She still had the PDA in her pocket, and she thought for a few moments about the merits of sending an email to May, Brenden, and Steven, but then she acknowledged that she didn't know their current situation—if they'd been led off to the cells, or were still stuck in the hallway with Ein. Either way, she didn't want to risk causing the Hoenn Trainers' PDA to suddenly go off and somehow land them in worse trouble than they already were in.

Rui didn't know who else she could possibly email, so she decided to wait and see if she could find out anything more about Gonzap's plans before she started typing.

It'd been silent long enough in the hallway for her to feel that she was very much alone, so very carefully and cautiously, she rose out of the uncomfortable chair she'd been sitting in and made her way around Gonzap's desk, sinking delicately down into the office chair behind it. Listening keenly for any sounds of footsteps approaching—particularly those of thick, heavy boots—she slowly slid open the top drawer of the desk to see what she could find.

Almost instantly two Pokeballs caught her eye, very conspicuous amongst the clutter, almost as if they'd been tossed into the drawer in a hurry or without a care. Instinctively, Rui reached out to pick them up, and nearly jumped out of her skin when Espeon and Umbreon released themselves as soon as she'd touched the red and white surfaces.

Umbreon leapt into her lap at once, standing on his hind legs to lick her face, his thick tail waving happily. Rui couldn't help but let out a relieved, shaky laugh, scooping the Dark Pokemon up and cuddling him, so happy to see that neither he nor his battling companion bore the Shadow Aura of Shadow Pokemon.

"I'm so glad to see you, Umbreon." she said softly, before looking up at Espeon, who sat proudly on the surface of Gonzap's desk. "You too, Espeon."

The Psychic Pokemon stood, rubbing his nose against her briefly in comfort and allowed her to pet him once or twice before he retreated again, crouching down low. Umbreon wiggled in her arms until she set him down, and he leapt back onto Gonzap's desk to accompany his partner. Both Eevee evolutions looked at her expectantly.

"Wes needs our help," Rui told them softly, "I know that you can feel that he's in trouble. We have to find him, and lend him our strength." She managed a small smile when Umbreon yipped. "_Your_ strength is probably better than mine."

Espeon sat up suddenly, his ears perked as he turned his head towards the door. A split second later, Rui could hear voices coming down the hall and headed towards the office, accompanied by the stomp of heavy boots.

"For now, though, you'll have to stick with me." Rui stood up, nearly stumbling in her haste to get back to the other side of the desk and throwing herself down into the uncomfortable chair again. Espeon and Umbreon didn't hesitate, recalling themselves back into their Pokeballs in brief flashes of red light, disappearing. Murmuring her thanks, Rui minimized the Pokeballs as small as they could go and quickly shoved them down into her right boot as far as she could. By the time the office door burst open and Gonzap strode in, Rui was sitting up straight in her chair, her eyes on the floor again, in what she hoped was the picture of defeat.

Gonzap wasted no time in grabbing her by the arm and hauling her to her feet. "Get up. It's time to move out."

"Where are you taking me?" Rui asked, silently praying that he wouldn't go looking for the Pokeballs that contained Espeon and Umbreon.

"Pyrite!" Miror B. sang from out in the hallway, doing a twirl on the polished floor. "We got a call from a pair of eyes in the city, our little darlings have gone down to the Under!"

"Wes thinks he can hide from me," Gonzap snarled, dragging Rui out of the room and shoving past Miror B. and the handful of Grunts that waited outside, "but he'll come _running_ if he knows I have his girlfriend at gunpoint, just like last time."

**

* * *

**

"You expect me to believe that _this_ is where you got your explosives?" Shady was about three seconds away from blowing a gasket, and Wes didn't need Rui's ability to see Shadow Auras to know that Shady's looked like a thundercloud. "From a bunch of snot-nosed _brats_?"

"Hey, watch it." Nett interjected with a frown. He'd been happily surprised to find Wes on his doorstep after what he'd heard from May and Brenden a few days ago, but he wasn't so sure about Wes's lookalike.

"No," Wes answered Shady levelly, "I don't expect you to believe that this is where I got them because this _isn't_ where I got them."

"Then you have ten seconds to tell me why we're wasting our time in kindergarten here, or I'll—"

"I got my explosives from Phenac, from the same shop we picked up that package for Ein from." Wes interrupted him. Megg was hiding behind him, clutching her Shroomish and looking up at Shady in fear, while Nett watched the conversation silently. They were standing in the basement floor of the Kids Grid house, and Wes was starting to feel a full headache coming on. "The shop keeper there has strong ties with Gonzap, and I originally used the excuse that I was picking up the explosives on Gonzap's orders."

"Then we go there now, and use the same damn excuse to—"

"Problem with that is that I'd been ordering the explosives for months in advance, and stockpiling them gradually," Wes interrupted him again, this time grimly, "and this time I haven't exactly been in the business of ordering explosions for months. But—" he turned and looked to Nett, "I led us here because I was hoping that the Kids Grid would be able to hook us up."

"What are the explosives for?" Megg asked shyly, looking up at him.

"Remember the Shadow Pokemon Lab? It's an eyesore, so we want to blow it up."

Nett smiled. "Always here to help you, Wes. Lucky for you, Bitt knows _just_ the guy."


	31. Standoff In Pyrite

**April Fool's Day is tomorrow, not today, kids:  
**

**

* * *

**

Rui sat quietly in the back of the beat up van, practically squashed against the window by the three Grunts that also occupied the same row. She kept her face turned towards the glass, watching the desert zoom by as the van bounced across the sand, surrounded by several other vans and motorcycles, all driven by more Snagem Grunts. Their caravan had left the lab some time ago, but none of the vehicles were as well-equipped as Wes's beast of a bike had been, so their progress across the desert was slow.

Rui had to hide a smile when she thought of the Snagger's bike. They used to practically fly across the desert, and she'd been terrified at first, especially by the huge engine roaring in her ears, but by the end of their quest she'd loved the bike just as much as Wes himself had. She wondered if he still had it, and decided that once this was all over and done with, she'd ask him to take her for another ride across the sands.

She held back a shaky sigh. She didn't know what was going to happen to herself, or Wes, for that matter. Things had been grim all along, but now they seemed even worse. Gonzap was right about his prediction that Wes would show up once he thought Gonzap was ready to kill her. She wished fervently that he'd just stay away and keep safe, but she knew her Snagger—he'd come to save her, and then be trapped.

"It's been a long time, been a long time!" Miror B. was in the front passenger seat, and had already used his higher rank over the Grunt driving the van to appoint himself as the one in charge of the ancient radio, filling the otherwise silent van with his off-key singing. "Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely long time! _Yes it has_!"

He really was killing the atmosphere.

* * *

"Well, this is interesting. I ship you all the way back to Hoenn, yet here you are again. Archie and Maxie must be far more incompetent than I originally assumed."

Brenden snorted. "You were seriously relying on those two to get rid of me? I'd say that _you're_ the one who's incompetent if that's the case."

Nascour surveyed them idly from beyond the thick glass of the holding cells, his face calm despite the Hoenn Trainer's insult. The Cipher Boss had shown up shortly after Brenden, May, and Steven had been led back down to the cell room, and despite the current chaotic state of the lab and its personnel, he seemed icily composed and confident.

Instead of replying, Nascour looked back over his shoulder loftily. "Gonzap has left to retrieve Wes and Shady?"

Ein stood in the doorway to the room, arms folded. "Yes. According to his sources, they're sticking together and have gone to Pyrite Town. He and Miror B. are on their way there as we speak." Behind him Dakim loomed silently.

"How much of the elixir do you have left for Shadow conversion?"

Ein pushed his glasses up. "I used the last of my first prototype of the elixir on Wes. It will be several days before a new batch is ready."

"Pity." Nascour turned back to look at the prisoners, Brenden and Steven in particular. "We still have two specimens ready for conversion."

"The Hoenn League will not stand for this sort of heinous crime." Steven's eyes flashed. "Experimenting on humans—or Pokemon—in such a manner will not be tolerated by any of the Leagues."

"It does not concern me what the Leagues think," Nascour answered loftily, turning away and making his way past Ein and Dakim, "because by the time they find out about our experiments, it will be too late."

The door slid shut behind him.

"Damn it!" Brenden slammed his fist against the wall. "Why are things so out of control here? It's bad enough that we've got Team Magma and Team Aqua fighting about the environment, but even Kanto and Johto's Team Rocket wasn't as _evil _as these guys."

Steven put a hand on his successor's shoulder, but he too appeared troubled. "I honestly think it has something to do with Orre's lack of a Pokemon League. The League isn't exactly a police force, but we do enforce the rules when it comes to Pokemon. Team Snagem and Cipher don't even seem to rely as heavily on Pokemon as the other crime organizations do—they settle things with weapons instead of Pokemon battles."

"They _used_ to settle things with Pokemon battles, based on what Rui told me about how she and Wes defeated Cipher and Team Snagem before."

"Unfortunately it is painfully clear that they've decided on using different tactics this time around. Wes and Rui were right to crush them before, but now it's brought a world of retaliation down on Wes, and Cipher is now poised to begin with what their belief of world-domination is."

Brenden sighed. "You're right. It just pisses me off that we can't do a thing."

Steven nodded. "It upsets me too, but we'll figure something out. Between the three of us, we have two Champions and a top Coordinator. We'll come up with something." He gave a faint smile. "As naïve or cliché as it sounds, good will always triumph over evil."

"Steven's right!" May piped up from the back of the cell, where she had sank down wearily, holding her head. Now, however, she lifted her head to give her friends a tiny grin. "We can do it. We just need some time to think."

"How are you feeling?" Brenden went over to join her, crouching down beside her.

"I feel angry even though I'm not," she admitted, giving a weary laugh, "it's the strangest feeling in the world. It's not as bad as before, though."

"Rui did say that your Shadow Aura was lessening," Steven said, giving her a small smile, "so keep positive."

"Right!" May nodded. "So don't worry about me! Worry more about our Pokemon."

Steven grimaced at the thought. Before they'd been shoved into the cell, their Pokemon and packs had been confiscated. "Do you think they'll turn them into Shadow Pokemon?"

"I don't know." May answered him, troubled.

"Nascour seems more interested in turning people Shadow than turning Pokemon," Brenden added, "so maybe they'll be safe for now."

"Let's start a list of objectives," Steven agreed with a nod, "we need to get out of here, find our Pokemon, and then go after Rui."

"I hate to rain on the parade, but it'll be kind of hard to get out of here without our Pokemon in the first place, though." May pointed out. "Even if we do make it out of this cell, they'll just stop us again."

Steven gave a grim smile. "We may not need our Pokemon in the short-term," he answered, "if we have you."

* * *

Bitt met them in one of the darkest alleys of the Under, in the furthermost reaches of the underground network. Wes had thought himself to be a frequent in the trashy city, but even he didn't recognize the part of town that Nett had led them through, winding their way through some of the scummiest-looking buildings he'd ever seen. Their trek had been lengthy but quiet, with even Shady keeping his mouth shut as they'd made their way to the rendezvous point with Bitt.

As he'd promised in his email to Nett, the third member of the Kids Grid was standing outside of what looked like an old warehouse, in front of the huge door, crouched down as he fumbled with the heavy lock and chain. As soon as he saw them, he straightened.

"Good to see you, Wes." Bitt had gotten tall, and he reached out to shake the Snagger's hand as soon as they'd approached. He shot a curious glance at Shady, but to Wes's relief, he didn't ask.

"Bitt." Wes shook his hand briefly. "Thanks for coming out so quick."

Bitt nodded as he fist bumped with Nett. "No problem, dude. Anything for you." He grinned. "So says my buddy, too. After he heard what I had to say about you and Cipher, he said to tell you that everything—" he bent and grabbed the handle of the warehouse door and pulled it up, opening the door with a screech of rust, "—is on the house."

Shady let out a low whistle of appreciation as the inside of the warehouse was revealed. Stacks upon stacks of boxes rose nearly to the ceiling, each carefully sorted and labeled by content. Wes stared for a full moment before looked back at Bitt, raising an eyebrow.

"Relax, he owns a company or two," Bitt said with a laugh, "so nothing's illegal, I promise. Most of these are used for blowing out routes through mountains for Trainers."

"Then what's your connection to him?" Wes asked skeptically. "No offense, but…you're just a kid."

"None taken," Bitt assured him with a wave of his hand, "but don't worry about it, alright? Everything here is one hundred percent legal, and you have my word that no one's going to come after you for this. Take what you need."

Wes still couldn't shake his feeling of reluctance, but he supposed that he'd have to trust Bitt on this one. The Kids Grid had been crucial to his success back when Cipher had been churning out Shadow Pokemon, so he'd have to rely on them again this time with the same trust.

It wasn't like he had any other options at this point, anyway.

"In that case, we'll take all of it." Shady leered at Wes, as if daring him to oppose.

Wes opposed. He took a deep breath before he answered, in an attempt to calm the sudden burst of anger that had welled up inside of him. He thought of Rui, and instantly focused. "We're blowing up a lab, not the entire region of Orre. Only a few explosives can do massive damage if we place them right." It was how he'd taken out Team Snagem's base so efficiently by himself. "We do need them to be fairly powerful, though. And obviously with specific detonators."

"I'll find the list of stock," Bitt offered, disappearing into the columns of boxes, "and we'll find you guys exactly what you need."

"What we _need_ is to leave a smoking crater behind," Shady snapped, eyes narrowing dangerously, "because I'm not doing some half-assed job here. I want annihilation."

"That's what we'll get," Wes answered through gritted teeth, "if you'd just shut up and let me show you."

"Take it easy, guys," Nett cautioned, eyeing them both warily, "you both look like you're ready to explode yourselves."

"No one asked you." Shady snarled, turning away and walking over to the nearest column of boxes.

Wes put a hand over his eyes for a moment, rubbing them wearily. "Sorry. It's been…stressful." He hadn't mentioned being turned Shadow to the computer genius, mainly because he wanted Nett to focus on the current plan. He thought of Rui again, his anger cooling. He had to focus; he had to make it so that she'd be safe.

"I understand." Nett dropped his wary look, offering Wes a slight smile. "Anything I can do? The explosives are more up Bitt's alley than mine, but I'll do what I can."

"Actually, I could use a complete set of the blueprints of Ein's lab." Wes let his hand drop. "I need one so I can figure out the best placements for the explosives."

Nett grinned. "I thought you'd never ask. Hacking Cipher's database is my specialty."

* * *

After nearly three hours of being cramped in the stuffy back of a van, Rui was relieved when she was pulled roughly out by her arm, nearly tripping as she stepped down onto the dry, compacted dirt that marked the entrance to Pyrite Town. After being in Ein's cold lab that smelled strongly of antiseptic for so long, she welcomed the hot rush of dry air from the desert as a hot breeze picked up for a moment before dying away.

The caravan was spread out across the entrance of the town like a Team Snagem blockade. Gonzap himself was just now dismounting from his motorcycle, which made Wes's old bike look tame. After barking out some orders, he stomped over to where Rui was being held beside the van.

"Listen up." His gaze was outright murderous as he glared down at her. "You try anything, and I'll blow your head off. Your little boyfriend is about to get what's been coming to him for a long time, if you get in the way, you're dead."

Rui nodded, not quite trusting her voice. Her feelings of relief of being out of the van had quickly dried up, and now all she felt was cold fear—Wes was in terrible danger.

"You." Gonzap turned his gaze to the Grunt nearest to her. "Don't let her out of your sight. If anything happens, you'll be the one who's dead."

"You got it, Boss!"

"Team Snagem!" An indignant cry suddenly had all their heads turning towards Pyrite. "What do you think you're doing, coming back out of the shadows?"

Rui's eyes widened in recognition. "Silva…?" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

Miror B. struck a pose, pointing dramatically at the silver-haired man facing them several yards away. "I remember you! You're the kid who helped ruin our plans here before!"

Duking's assistant narrowed his eyes at the Cipher Admin with pure loathing. "Miror B."

"Who the fuck are you?" Gonzap roared, stepping forward.

Instead of answering him, Silva caught sight of Rui, his own eyes widening as he recognized her and the situation she was in. "Rui! Are you okay? Where is Wes?"

Rui opened her mouth. "I—"

"That's a better question for you, kid." Gonzap interrupted her, pulling out his gun and leveling it at Silva. "Where _is_ Wes? He's here somewhere, right now. You'd better find him, quick." He shifted his stance, pointing his gun back towards Rui while he kept his glare on Silva. "Better find him and tell him that if he doesn't show up, his girlfriend is dead."

* * *

May crouched in the center of the cell, facing the glass as she closed her eyes in concentration. She was aware of Steven and Brenden somewhere behind her, pressed against the back wall of the cell as they watched her.

"You have to get angry, May," Steven coached, his voice calm but she could practically feel his gaze focused on her, "you have to be furious, and it needs to last."

"I don't like this," Brenden mumbled, "what if she gets hurt? Or snaps into Hyper Mode? When Rui told me about it, it sounded like it's not—"

"I can do this, Brenden." May started to smile at his concern, but then remembered that she was supposed to be getting angry. "Although…Hyper Mode sounds scary. What if I can't get out of it?"

"Then it'll be up to Brenden to call you back to your senses." Steven answered her reassuringly.

"_Me_? Why?"

Steven gave a faint grin at the white haired Trainer's obliviousness, privately amused. "You're her best friend, aren't you?"

"Yeah…" Brenden scratched the back of his head. "I guess."

"Hey, what do you mean, you _guess_?" May demanded.

"Alright, alright!" Brenden hurriedly corrected himself. "I'm her best friend. _Ever_."

"Better!" May answered happily.

Despite the situation, Steven let out a small chuckle. "Well, there's your answer. If May goes into Hyper Mode, you'll be the one who can successfully call her back." He paused, letting that sink in. The young Trainers would someday realize their feelings for one another, but now wasn't the time to push it. "May, you're supposed to be angry."

"Right, right." May was silent for a few moments, trying her hardest to make the rage inside her grow. After a pause, she sighed. "This is the weirdest thing ever. I feel angry, but I just can't act on it. Does that make sense?"

Steven studied her for a moment thoughtfully. The Pokemon Coordinator was generally a happy person, so it made sense that she struggled so much with her angry emotions now that her heart had supposedly been closed—she instinctively wanted to revert to her natural, happy nature but since she was Shadow, she couldn't. The former Champion suddenly felt a wave of compassion for the Shadow Pokemon, suddenly realizing how they must have felt—just as confused as May was, but with no actual way to understand what was happening to them. It was just as cruel as it was unfair.

"Try thinking about Cipher, and all that they've done," he suggested at last, pulling himself from his musings to address May, "think about Rui, and how she's at Gonzap's mercy right now. Think about Wes, and all that you've witnessed when it comes to Cipher's revenge on him."

"Feel for 'em, May," Brenden encouraged her, "and get pissed. Rui's in danger and we've got to save her, and Wes is a good guy, doing what he did to save the Shadow Pokemon. Cipher is full of a bunch of scumbags who are too afraid to battle Wes in a fair fight, so they're resorting to blackmailing him and beating him up. It's time for _our_ retaliation, for the sake of Wes and Rui!"

"Think about our Pokemon—_your_ Pokemon," Steven added, hoping to drive her with his urgency, "they're in Nascour's clutches, waiting for their fates to be decided. We can't abandon our friends and allow them to become Shadow Pokemon. We've got to stand up and fight for their sakes too!"

May was silent and still, and Steven wished for a moment that Rui was present, so that they would know what was happening to the Shadow Aura around her. He imagined it thickening, growing darker in color as May's anger built, and becoming strong in her rage. May's Shadow Rush attack was their only chance of breaking out of the cell, and as much as Steven hadn't liked his idea even as he'd suggested it, he hoped that it would work.

It _had_ to work.

May shot to her feet suddenly, her voice icy with determination. "I'm ready."

Steven and Brenden threw up their arms to shield themselves as May unleashed her power in an all-out attack on the cell door, the glass shattering as it came crashing down around them.

* * *

"We need to plant a good amount of the explosives directly in Ein's lab room. His computers, the SPCM—all of it—has to be destroyed."

"Well, it's pretty clear that you'll have to infiltrate the lab in order to thoroughly blast the place, but that's going in pretty deep, Wes." Nett looked up from the blueprints he'd brought back from his house—it'd only taken him an hour to hack Cipher's database this time—watching the Snagger. "Ein's lab room is at the base of the lab."

Wes shook his head, eyes still skimming over the layouts. "We have to be sure that it's all destroyed past the point of salvaging. We can't just let them rebuild, Nett."

"I agree with you on that, but Ein's bound to have a backup file somewhere, so—"

"We take him out." Shady had his arms folded, glaring at the blueprints. "He's mine. I'll make sure he goes down with the ship."

Wes looked up, glancing at him. "Fair enough." He ignored Nett's startled look. Wes had already accepted with cold certainty that the Cipher Admin had to be taken out. If allowed to escape, Ein would just start from scratch—he was too in love with his research to abandon it. Despite all his intelligence, Nett was still just a kid, but Wes didn't have time to be soft anymore. "He's all yours."

Shady merely sneered, eyes glinting in the dim light. During the time Nett had gone back to his house to get the required blueprints of the Shadow Pokemon Lab, Wes had used up close to all of his remaining patience on Shady, and getting the clone to agree on the type of explosives they were going to use. They'd settled at last on explosives very similar to the ones Wes had used on the Team Snagem building long ago—mainly because they were small and easy to set up, and had a specific hand detonator as opposed to timers.

Wes was actually fairly impressed—they were far superior to the explosives he'd painstakingly ordered, hidden, set up, and used to blow his way out of Team Snagem. Everything was wireless, even the detonators, which had a huge range. Whoever Bitt's friend was, he had quite an arsenal of high-tech explosives.

"If one of you is going all the way down to Ein's lab room, then just the two of you aren't going to be enough to pull this off." Nett returned his attention to the blueprints. "Whoever goes down to the lab room, that's going to be your only objective—getting there and getting out in one piece. But meanwhile, whoever doesn't go all the way down will have to plant the explosives throughout the rest of the building? All without some kind of diversion?"

"I've snuck through the lab before." Wes pointed out. "It is possible."

Nett wasn't convinced. "I don't know, Wes. That was when Cipher wasn't taking you seriously. This time, they're really gunning for you." He paused, thoughtful. "Let me get in contact with Marcia, and see if she can't get her dad to—"

"Guys!" Bitt came sprinting out of the warehouse where he'd been getting out the right amount of explosives that Wes and Shady required, his eyes wide with panic. "Marcia just called looking for you, Wes! Team Snagem is at the front of Pyrite Town, and Gonzap is saying that if you don't show up soon he's gonna kill Rui!"

* * *

While she'd initially welcomed the heat, Rui was beginning to think that today's temperature could have been an all-time record high for the region. It was absolutely sweltering, though she wasn't entirely sure if she was sweating from the heat or just pure nerves.

Team Snagem had been maintaining its position at the entrance of Pyrite Town for three quarters of an hour now, with Gonzap getting testier and testier by the minute, Miror B. practice dance moves in between whining about the heat, and the Grunts shifting restlessly, all the while the citizens of Pyrite stayed far away. Rui hadn't seen hide nor hair of Chief Sherles or his hapless officer, Johnson, though she wasn't exactly surprised—what could they do against an entire gang? Gonzap would have them slaughtered if they even dared to approach. If anything, she wished them to stay away. She didn't want to see any kind of bloodshed.

Silva had run off shortly after Gonzap's threat, after shouting a promise to Rui that she'd be saved, and hadn't been seen since. Rui could only assume that he was trying to locate Wes, but seeing as Silva was fairly inept himself, she wasn't getting her hopes up.

There was no doubt in her mind that Wes would come, once he learned of her peril. So solid was her belief that it was the only thing keeping her calm, other than the two Pokeballs she now held clenched in her hands in the pockets of her skirt. Rui didn't want to see him walk straight into a trap, but she knew that he'd come regardless and had already accepted that as inevitable. She wondered how he was faring as a Shadow human.

"What is taking the little darling so long?" Miror B. stamped a foot, making a cloud of dust rise. "You said he'd come _running_!"

Rui's eyes darted to Gonzap's vest-clad back nervously, a drop of sweat sliding down her spine. As much as she didn't want Wes to walk into a trap, she also wished that he'd hurry. There was no telling when Gonzap would get fed up and kill her anyway. She tried not to fidget, and thus call attention to herself, but she felt so torn.

"I mean, really!" Miror B. continued to whine even as he twirled. He was beginning to sound almost as bad as Venus. "We've been out here for so long! I think it's time for us to dance our way to some shade, and come up with—"

"There he is." Gonzap growled suddenly, silencing Miror B. almost instantly.

Rui lifted her gaze again, hardly daring to breathe.

Wes walked slowly towards them down the middle of Pyrite's main street, and Rui's heart practically soared at seeing him, but then quailed as she caught sight of the angry black Shadow Aura surrounding and enveloping him. He was alone—Shady was nowhere in sight—and as he drew nearer and nearer she could make out his expressionless face, and was willing to bet that he'd already counted up the number of Snagem Grunts present. She squeezed the two Pokeballs in her pockets harder, her heart pounding.

He stopped when he was only several yards away from the first line of Grunts, arms held loosely at his sides. Seeing him expressionless while his Shadow Aura swirled around him was eerie, but then his gaze found hers and Rui felt warmth spread throughout her entire body that was far different from the heat of the sun—Wes was still Wes, no matter what Cipher had done to him, and the expression she could see hidden in his eyes told her just that.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Gonzap demanded, reaching back to grab Rui by the arm and dragging her forward as he pushed past his Grunts so that he stood at the front of his team members, glaring at Wes with a vicious hatred.

"I'm sorry, Rui." Wes ignored the Team Snagem Boss, his gaze still on her. "Are you…?"

"I'm okay." She managed a watery smile just for him, so happy to see him despite everything. The last time she'd seen him, it had been when she'd been dragged away from him and out of the cell room in the Shadow Pokemon Lab by Grunts while Gonzap had stayed behind to…to…She didn't even want to think about it. "I'm not a Shadow human."

Had their current situation been any less tense, she imagined that Wes would have sighed in pure relief. "Good."

Rui flinched when Gonzap jostled her roughly, pulling out his gun and pressing it to her temple once again. "I'm the one who's talking to you, Wes," he snarled, his grip on Rui's arm painfully tight, "don't fucking ignore me, or she's dead."

Wes's gaze snapped up to Gonzap immediately, his Shadow Aura reflecting his cold fury. "You kill her, Gonzap, and you lose the last shred of control you have over me."

"That won't matter for long," Gonzap snarled, the barrel of his gun beginning to dig into Rui's skin even as she instinctively tried to shy away with fear, "because as soon as Ein's finished screwing with you, you're mine. And I can't _wait_ to tear you apart."

"Then leave Rui out of this." Wes's Shadow Aura spiked even as he kept his voice level. "She doesn't mean anything to you."

"But she means something to you." The Team Snagem Boss grinned nastily. "And if her death will break you, then I'll keep her so I can murder _her_ right in front of your eyes before I kill _you_."

Rui saw Wes grit his teeth.

"Where the hell is Shady?" Gonzap demanded, looking around as if he expected Wes's clone to suddenly appear.

"You actually thought he'd stick around?" Wes let a sneer cross his face.

"I know he's here somewhere," Gonzap growled, gaze returning to Wes, "that piece of shit can't have gone far."

Rui felt the gun being pressed to her head loosen slightly, no longer so firmly pressed against her skin as Gonzap's attention remained more focused on Wes than on her even as he kept his iron-like grip on her arm. Very slowly, she slid her hands into her pockets, curling her fingers around the Pokeballs again before carefully withdrawing her hands again, keeping them in fists. Her heart was pounding, and she had no idea how Gonzap couldn't hear it.

"Shady took off as soon as we got here," Wes was saying when Rui focused on the conversation again, "our partnership was as short-lived as your hair."

"Watch your fucking mouth," Gonzap roared, and Rui winced when the gun practically hit her in the head, "or I'll—"

"Or you'll what?" Rui could have sworn Wes's eyes flickered down to her fists for the briefest of moments, but she blinked and he was still looking up at Gonzap. "Kill me? You've already mentioned that's part of the plan, so in the meantime, come up with better threats."

"When did you get so mouthy again?" To Rui's surprise, Gonzap cooled off a bit. "Your little taste of freedom make you feel like you were king of the world, eh?"

"Not quite." Wes's gaze moved back down to Rui, meeting her eyes again. "It just made me feel like you're the biggest dumbass I've ever had the misfortune of meeting." Silently, he mouthed, _Now._

Gonzap was already opening his mouth to reply with a volley of curses and threats, but Rui closed her eyes and let go of the two Pokeballs in her fists, allowing them to burst open as they hit the sand.

"Espeon, Psychic! Shady, now!"

Rui heard and felt the world around her literally explode, feeling the sand erupt around her rather than seeing it. She screamed in terror as she heard gunshot go off, but at the same time she was wrenched from Gonzap's grasp, blown away by the force of the explosion. All around her she could hear the screams and cries of the Grunts and perhaps even a wail that could have belonged to Miror B. as another explosion went off.

She dared to open her eyes when she realized that she felt no pain—she hadn't been shot?—and realized that her entire body was covered by a faint hue of glowing blue. She looked down through a thick cloud of smoke and could barely make out Espeon sitting beside her, guarding her with his powerful Psychic attack.

A black shadow darted towards them with a yip—it only could be Umbreon—and then Wes followed, appearing out of the smoke just in time for her to collapse into his arms, shaking.

"It's alright," he assured her quietly, just audible enough for her to hear above the screams of Team Snagem, "I've got you." He held her close, and that was when she realized that he'd been just as terrified as she'd been.

"_Wes_," Rui answered with a small sob, "I was so—so worried—about you, and—" She let out another sob, too shaken and relieved all at once to be ashamed. They were finally back together again.

Somewhere below them, Umbreon yipped again, right before a third explosion made the ground shake. "Come on, Rui. Let's get out of here while they're still busy." Wes squeezed her once, gently, before slowly letting go.

Rui wiped her eyes, nodding, though she reached through the smoke for his hand, holding it tightly. "Okay."

Wes turned, leading her through the smoke and confusion, Espeon and Umbreon right on their heels as they ran from the mayhem back into Pyrite, the Grunts' screams and Gonzap's howls of rage echoing behind them.


	32. The Mother of Pyrite

**In which I—and they— fail at romance:**

* * *

Rui followed Wes blindly, stumbling after him as he gently pulled her along, too drained by all of her emotions to really care where he was taking her—she was finally back with him, at last, and this time they weren't in some sterile cell. She felt as if she were in some kind of dream.

Wes cut through an alley, winding through houses before reaching one in particular that was vaguely familiar for some reason, opening the door without a knock or any kind of hesitation and leading her inside. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Rui realized they were in Duking's house.

Marcia was by the window, looking out into the street with her brother Secc, as if in hopes of seeing some of the action taking place at the town's entrance. As soon as Wes and Rui entered, however, she turned at once and beckoned for them to follow her.

"You made it," she greeted them as she tripped the switch for the bookcase on the back wall of the house to slide aside, "I'm glad. Dad said for you to stay back here until it's over, just in case."

"Thanks." Wes answered with a nod, stepping into the secret back room that usually served as a Kids Grid hangout. Espeon and Umbreon darted in before him, disappearing inside.

"Good to see you, Marcia." Rui said faintly as she followed the Snagger, still feeling as if she was in a dream of some kind—she was almost afraid that she'd wake up soon. So much had happened in the last minute that she wasn't sure if she was being rude or not. In the very back of her mind, she wondered why it mattered, at a time like this.

Duking's daughter gave her a smile and a small wave, before tripping the switch again and allowing the bookcase to slide back into place, hiding them from view.

The Kids Grid had updated their hideout in the couple years that'd passed since Rui had last seen it, making the small room a bit more homey—the back wall still resembled a cave, with a small waterfall trickling quietly down the face of the rock, but the rusty barrels and wooden boxes of questionable content were gone, a couple more sturdy-looking tables in their place. Wes led her over to one, pulling out a chair and making her sit, looking down at her with something close to worry in his eyes, concerned.

"Rui?" He asked her, almost tentative. She wasn't acting like her normal self. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I think so." Now that she was sitting, she felt less like she was floating, which was good. She still felt out-of-it, though.

"You're all pale." He'd pulled off a glove, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead briefly. "You feel like you're going to pass out?" Umbreon hopped up on top of the table, followed closely by Espeon.

"_Wes_." It was like she'd woken up again, realizing that he really _was_ in front of her, whole and alive. She latched onto him again, burying her face in his shoulder again as she sobbed with relief.

Wes let her cry, dropping his arms down around her back so he could hold onto her. Before there'd been pressing matters, like getting off the street before Gonzap found them again, but here they would be safe. "It's alright, Rui. You're okay." He was just as relieved as she was to see that she was okay and unharmed. On the table, Espeon sank down gracefully into a crouch while Umbreon nosed his elbow gently. "I'm glad to see you guys too." he told them fondly, causing both of their ears to perk up happily. For the first time in several hours, he didn't feel angry, which only left him with exhaustion.

Rui wasn't sure how long she clung to him, sobbing her eyes out, but eventually she felt Wes shift her delicately so that he could sink down into the chair she'd initially been sitting in, before he pulled her down with him so that she was basically in his lap as he settled her into place. On any other occasion, she would have protested in embarrassment but this time she merely leaned forward against his chest, her face still buried in his shoulder with her eyes closed. Wes put one arm around her comfortingly, and she heard him talking softly to Espeon and Umbreon as he held onto her.

Eventually she sat up slightly, wiping her eyes with one last, small sniff. "I'm sorry," she said, now beginning to feel embarrassed as she began to untangle herself from him to stand, "I'm probably being really annoying—"

To her surprise, Wes stopped her, his grip on her firm. "You aren't annoying. Just…" He trailed off for a moment, as if unsure that his request would be okay. "Stay. Please."

Rui looked up at him, blinking in surprise, before she smiled happily. "Okay." Umbreon jumped off the table into her lap, taking advantage of their positions to make himself at home. Rui laughed as he curled up on her lap, a black fur ball with softly-glowing rings. "You fit perfectly, Umbreon." She scratched behind his long ears, making him give what sounded like a purr.

"Obnoxious." Wes muttered, but he sounded faintly amused despite himself. His free arm rested on the table, petting Espeon slowly. The Psychic-type looked just as content as the Dark-type.

Rui looked up at him again, studying his face. He'd acquired a few more bruises since she'd last seen him, his eyes exhausted and haunted. There was still tightness to their corners as well, small testaments to his stress, and the ever-present Shadow Aura shifted around him eerily.

"You've been turned Shadow." She noted softly, watching his aura fluctuate. It wasn't as black as it'd been back when he'd been confronting Gonzap back on the street, but it was definitely still strong.

Wes nodded wearily. "They got me." The words were spoken as heavily as they sounded.

"I'm sorry." Rui whispered.

"Don't be. It isn't your fault." He'd looked away briefly, but now his gaze was back, boring into hers intently. "You aren't though, right?" He couldn't see auras like she could, so he had no way to tell.

She shook her head. "No, I promise. They wanted to convert me, but I got away."

Wes closed his eyes briefly, and she was touched by his pure relief. "Good."

Rui suddenly remembered. "But they got May! She's been turned Shadow!"

He gritted his teeth. "_Damn_." He'd _warned_ them about getting involved.

"Oh, Wes, we have to go back for her! And Brenden and Steven, they're still there too, they got captured when I led everyone back down into the lab and it's all my fault—"

"Rui." He silenced her, though his tone was gentle. "Slow down, you're babbling."

She blushed. "I'm sorry."

"They turned May into a Shadow-human." Now that Wes thought back about it, he realized that Ein had hinted as much right before he'd been turned Shadow. At the time, he hadn't known whether the scientist had been talking about Rui or May.

Rui nodded. "Yes. They must have done it in between turning Shady and turning you."

That made sense. "So she and Brenden are back in the lab."

"Yes. When Ein came and took me from the cell room, he led me down to his lab. He already had May there, and she'd been turned into a Shadow-human. Nascour must have delivered her there after he captured her and Brenden in Phenac, because he came and—oh, Wes, he shot Evice!"

Wes grimaced. "I know. Nascour has taken over Cipher. You were there?"

Rui nodded, her eyes wide. "It was _horrible_. Evice was a bad guy, but…but…" Her eyes were growing misty again at the horror of the memory.

Wes brought his free hand up to wipe her eyes gently for her. "Keep going."

Rui swallowed and nodded again. "After he shot Evice," she picked back up again, only a little shaky, "Nascour ordered Ein to turn me Shadow. May figured out how to use her aura as an attack, kind of like when Shady attacked you back in the cell. But she busted us out of there and we ran up to the entrance of the lab." She paused, looking at him tearfully. "They used you instead."

"Don't think like that." Wes told her firmly. "Even if they _had_ turned you Shadow, odds are that I was next. Ein was probably planning on using me from the very beginning anyway."

"Okay." Rui agreed reluctantly.

"What happened after that?"

"As soon as we got out of the lab, we ran into Brenden and Steven."

"Steven?"

"The former Hoenn Champion. Instead of bringing Brenden back to the lab with May, Nascour tried to ship him off with Team Magma and Team Aqua, the two criminal teams from Hoenn—Brenden's on their bad side for ruining their plans, remember? Steven rescued Brenden, and then they both rushed back to Orre. It was really perfect timing."

"Not perfect enough." Wes gave a faint grimace. "I think we just missed each other, Rui."

"I think we did too." Rui admitted. "Because I knew you were still down in the lab, so we all went back down to try and find you. We ultimately ended up being captured again, right after we learned that you and Shady had escaped."

"Damn it." Wes let out a light sigh. "I tried convincing Shady to go back for you, but he wouldn't let me, so I finally decided that my chances of rescuing you would be higher if he and I stuck together. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, Rui."

"Don't be!" She said at once, slightly alarmed. "I'm really glad you got away!"

Wes almost looked faintly amused by her expression, but then his face was serious again. "Bottom line is that May, Brenden, and Steven are in the lab still, and May is a Shadow."

She nodded vigorously. "Right."

"Alright." He suddenly looked a thousand times more exhausted, but his eyes were determined. "We'll get them out. I haven't been doing just nothing since I got to Pyrite."

"And I'll fix you!" Rui promised. "I'll help you reopen your heart, Wes. You and May can be Purified, I _know_ it."

Wes actually had to try to not smile as he looked down at her fierce expression. "You've done it before once, Rui," he told her softly, "I know you can do it again."

"I—I have?" she stammered, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"Back when I first met you," he admitted, "and back during all of the Shadow Pokemon rescuing we did." He paused, seeming to hesitate. "You changed me. For the better."

Rui smiled, suddenly understanding. "I didn't change you," she answered softly, "I just showed you how to be your _true_ self."

At that, Wes allowed a faint smile. "Either way…thank you."

Rui had to resist the urge not to hold her breath, suddenly hyperaware of the fact that their faces were only centimeters apart. If she were to guess, Wes too had realized the exact same thing close to the exact same time, but instead of leaning back or looking away, he held her gaze, his gold meeting her blue. Even Espeon was very still, and in Rui's lap, Umbreon lifted his head and tilted his chin to look up at them, watching as they leaned forward to—

Rui jumped when the bookcase suddenly slid back again, another blush rising on her cheeks as she and Wes pulled back from one another reflexively, and secretly she was terribly disappointed that the entire moment had been ruined. Umbreon hopped down out of her lap and stood in front of them, fur raised as he hissed at the intruder.

"Get out here." Shady stood in the doorway and ignored Umbreon, his Shadow Aura terrifyingly darker than Wes's. When he caught sight of them, he sneered. "Touching. But it's time to go."

"Team Snagem?" Wes looked annoyed by his clone's existence, for more than one reason.

At his question, Shady's sneer morphed into a smirk. "We sent them running out into the desert, every last one of them." He laughed. "Those aren't dead, that is. Duking and his men have already taken care of that."

Wes felt Rui shiver, and he gave her a tiny, reassuring squeeze. "What about Gonzap and Miror B.?"

Shady scowled. "No sign of them. But we _will_ get them."

Wes nodded slowly, thinking. He wasn't that surprised that the Snagem Boss and the Cipher Admin had managed to escape. It would have made his life a whole lot easier if they hadn't, but for now he'd gladly settle with having Rui successfully rescued.

"Come on," Shady snapped, "it's time."

"Time for what?" Rui spoke up bravely. "Wes?"

Wes blinked as he came out of thought, looking back to her. "Like I said, we didn't just sit around while we were here. We're going to take out the Shadow Pokemon Lab."

Rui's eyes were wide. "How?"

Duking appeared behind Shady, in the process of dusting his hands off. While not as big as Dakim, the Pyrite Colosseum manager still dwarfed the clone. "Marcia said you made it back all right, Wes? Rui, I'm glad you're safe."

Rui slid down off of Wes so that he could stand, giving Duking a small smile. "Thank you very much, Mr. Duking."

"Thanks for your help." Wes added, stepping up beside her and surprising her again when he slipped his fingers through hers. Together they walked out of the Kids Grid hideout, stepping back into Duking's living room. Espeon jumped down from the table and followed them with Umbreon, the bookcase sliding back into place behind them.

"Pyrite has suffered enough at the hands of Cipher and Team Snagem," Duking acknowledged, "it was about time for a little payback." He paused. "Everyone's back, Wes. We're ready to hear the plan."

Wes took a breath, nodding once. When he and Shady had initially arrived at Duking's house, Wes had explained a little of what they had planned before asking the Pyrite Colosseum manager for help in saving Rui. Duking had offered his assistance at once, along with promising further aid at the Shadow Pokemon Lab. "Alright. I'll be out in a sec."

"I'll gather everyone up." Duking accepted his answer with a nod, turning and heading back outside.

"Make it fast, Wes." Shady hissed before stalking after Duking, slamming the door in his wake.

"His Shadow Aura is really black," Rui said softly after a moment's pause, her eyes still on the door, "it's a lot worse than any aura I've ever seen."

"He's an angry guy." Wes sounded tired. "But right now his anger is directed at something other than us, so we'll have to work with him. He wants to see the lab blown up as much as we do." He glanced sideways at her. If his damned clone hadn't walked in…

"Can we trust him, though?" Rui asked doubtfully, unaware of his gaze.

"Probably not." Wes admitted. "But we don't have any other options right now, and unfortunately, I need his help."

"Okay." Rui knew she'd just have to trust in Wes, something that she'd always found easy to do—so this time would be no different. Still holding his hand she leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I won't let your aura get that bad."

"I know." Wes answered her calmly. He trusted her just as much as she did him. "Let's go."

Rui nodded, straightening and going along with him as he led the way out of the house, stepping out into the heat again. Duking had gathered his men—mostly Trainers from the Colosseum, along with Silva and a few other Pyrite Town residents—while Shady leaned against the side of the house, arms folded and glaring. As Rui let the door shut behind them, Nett and Megg joined the small crowd, standing with Marcia and Secc—the Kids Grid ringleaders united. Rui looked around at all the faces gathered, some she recognized, like Cail, and some she didn't, feeling truly lucky to have so many friends who were willing to come together. She glanced sideways at Wes, smiling as she watched him scan the crowd, already counting and calculating—her Snagger was in business.

The crowd parted, making way for none other than Fateen as she made her way slowly up to Wes and Rui, her wizened face as serious as ever. As she came to a stop in front of them, a hush fell over the gathered crowd as one by one everyone went quiet, waiting for the fortuneteller to speak.

"Fateen." Rui said in surprise. She hadn't seen the old woman since she and Wes had Snagged the remaining Shadow Pokemon. "How—"

"I have been well, child." Fateen interrupted her, dismissive. Then she smiled, adding more wrinkles to her face. "I have missed you too."

Rui smiled, delighted. She'd always found Fateen's uncanny abilities amazing. "I'm glad."

Fateen nodded, before turning her sharp gaze to Wes, who watched the soothsayer warily—unlike Rui, he'd always been slightly unnerved by her clairvoyance, even if he'd never admit it. Rui had teased him about it once, but his tight-lipped response had been enough to make her stop.

He stiffened slightly but otherwise held dutifully still when Fateen lifted one gnarled hand to press her fingers lightly against his forehead, closing her eyes for a long moment. Then, just as abruptly as she'd touched him, she was withdrawing again, opening her eyes to smile at him.

"You walk in dark places, Snagger." In the silence, her gravelly voice carried well. "But you have a light to follow. Be sure that you don't lose it."

Rui was looking at Fateen with wide-eyed wonder, but all Wes could do was stare at her blankly, unsure what to think.

"The Golden One will come for you when the cold draws near and threatens to vanquish the heat," Fateen continued, her voice resounding with finality, "but it will be the Ageless One who will restore your path. Do not worry," she added, seeing Rui's wide eyes, "all will be clear once Orre's shadows have been purged."

Wes would have much preferred that the old fortuneteller made things clear right now instead of talking in what sounded to him like code, but he didn't say a word after glancing at the awe on Rui's face and the reverence of the gathered crowd as they listened.

Off to the side, Shady snorted. "What a load of bullshit."

Fateen turned to take him in with a measured gaze, regarding him expressionlessly. "You are lost," she told him, "but you too can still make your way. But until you let go of your burden, you will never find it."

That shut him up. With a scowl, Shady looked away.

The Mother of Pyrite Town looked back to Wes and Rui, smiling gently. "Go well. And good luck." Then, just as gracefully as she'd arrived, she left, the crowd once again parting to allow her through.

Rui looked up at Wes only to see him staring after Fateen with a strange expression on his face, almost as if he'd wanted to say something, forgotten about it, and then had suddenly remembered now that she'd gone. She blinked and the expression was gone and he was looking back at her, eyebrows slightly raised.

"What do you think she means?" Rui asked him softly as the crowd began to murmur again. Her own thoughts were already speculating wildly, trying to decipher the meaning behind the fortuneteller's words.

"I have no idea." Wes wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. When she'd spoken the last part of his fortune he'd felt like something cold had been slowly dripping down his spine, leaving him deeply unsettled.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see." Rui replied, for once unaware of his unease; as she was too busy trying to puzzle out the fortune.

Wes nodded, still unsure what to think. He looked down when Umbreon suddenly rubbed against his leg and Espeon gave him a small nudge, the two Eevee-evolutions looking up at him calmly.

"Right." He said quietly, mostly to them and himself. Umbreon gave a soft yip in answer, while Espeon waited serenely. Wes looked back up at the crowd, clearing his throat lightly to gain everyone's attention and waiting until an expectant silence had fallen before continuing. "So. Here's the plan."

* * *

Gonzap stood with his arms folded and his expression like a thundercloud as he watched the last few of his straggling Grunts drag themselves to the outcropping of boulders about five miles outside of Pyrite. Somewhere behind him Miror B. was collapsed in the shade, whimpering something under his breath, but the Team Snagem Boss ignored the Cipher Admin, resisting the strong urge to murder something.

Or someone.

He was livid. He'd been outsmarted—and blown up—by Wes _again_, and to add further insult to injury, it'd been because Shady, of all people, had helped. Somehow his two former Team members had formed an alliance; one that was specifically against him. They'd also managed to get a sizeable amount of Pyrite's population to chip in, resulting in he and his Grunts—those who'd survived the explosions, anyway—being chased out into the desert nearly relentlessly at first, their pursuers eventually turning back after a couple miles.

His Grunts gathered in front of him, Gonzap cracked his knuckles loudly. They looked pathetic, covered in sand and grime and smelling strongly of sweat and smoke. If he didn't need actual members in order to have a Team, Gonzap figured that he would have killed the lot of them on the spot for their complete and utter failure.

"—and I have sand in my hair and boots," Miror B. was huffing, unfurling his long, skinny body as he pushed himself back up to his feet, afro bouncing wildly, "this was _not_ according to your plan."

"I know that." Gonzap thundered. His Grunts looked surprised and terrified all at once—they'd been expecting their boss to be shouting his head off by now, full of more rage than menace. "Give it a fucking rest."

Miror B. _hmphed_, but otherwise remained quiet, content with trying to fix his hair for the time being.

"What do we do now, Boss?" someone dared to ask when all Gonzap did was glare at them.

"We head back to the lab." Gonzap growled, turning around to look out across the desert. Returning to Pyrite was a lost cause—he knew when he'd been beaten. But Ein still had some of Wes's friends back at the lab, and the kid had gotten too noble to abandon them now. Wes would show. And then…

Payback, once and for all.

"Move out!"

* * *

Steven crouched in the doorway of the dark room, holding the door open a tiny fraction as he looked out into the hallway, watching and waiting for someone to pass by. "How's it coming?" he asked in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the elevator at the end of the hall. "Do they fit?"

"This helmet sucks." Brenden complained. "Why the hell do they wear all these layers out in a freaking desert, anyway?"

"Mine fits," May remarked, "but these boots are kind of uncomfortable."

Steven risked a look back at his two companions. The two Cipher Peons that had come in to investigate the loud crashing after May had shattered the glass of the holding cells now laid tied up and gagged, deeply unconscious. It had been May's idea, however, to strip the Peons down to their underclothes and steal their uniforms, mainly in the interest of making their breakout last as long as possible before they were discovered.

"How do we look?" May asked, twirling with a giggle. Her uniform was purple and pink, which had delighted the Coordinator. "Do we look like Cipher goonies?"

"I feel stupid." Brenden grumbled. His uniform was dark blue, and he fumbled with the orange cloth that was supposed to be tied around his neck. "Who the heck designed these stupid uniforms, anyway?"

"Probably Lady Venus." May said after a moment of thought. The burst of anger and power it'd taken her to bust them out of their cell had left her tired, but fortunately she seemed to be recovering quickly. "That's probably the only real thing she's actually contributed to Cipher."

"You both look passable," Steven said, steering the conversation back on track, "as long as you keep those helmets on."

"What about you, Steven?" May asked. "No one else came down here to check out what all the noise was."

"That seems to be the case." Steven agreed calmly. "You two are going to have to find somebody for me."

Brenden grinned for the first time since he'd put the Peon uniform on. "_Now_ you're talking."

* * *

Wes made his way slowly across the old rickety bridge that crossed the chasm of the Under, one hand on the railing to guide himself. Rui hadn't liked this bridge originally, and it had required a great deal of talking—something he'd been unused to at that point—on his part to get her to even _think_ about setting foot on the rusted metal.

He was currently alone, however, as he stepped back on solid ground. Rui was helping Duking oversee the preparations to leave, so Wes had taken the opportunity to remove himself from the spotlight—he was more comfortable battling in front of crowds, not speaking to them—and take Espeon and Umbreon for a quick visit to the PokeCenter located inside the Pyrite Colosseum across town.

Espeon and Umbreon were fully healed and their Pokeballs were back on his belt where they belonged. It was a relief to have them back again, and to know that they were safe. It'd been a brilliant move on Rui's part to steal them away from Gonzap, and Wes was proud of her—she'd handled herself well given the situation, and had made miles of improvement compared to when she'd been kidnapped and tied up in a sack by Trudly and Folly. He'd have to remember to tell her as much the next time he got a chance.

He was halfway across a surprisingly empty Duel Square when he ran into Shady. Wes came to a stop, eyeing his clone warily. "What do you want?" He felt the beginnings of pure, unrefined anger beginning to simmer inside him, and he knew that his Shadow Aura had probably grown darker at the sight of his twin.

"Just making sure you hadn't slithered away." Shady sneered at him.

"I've told you before. I'm not going anywhere." Wes answered him stiffly. He couldn't give into his anger, he had to focus. "I want the lab blown up just as much as you do."

"Good." Shady didn't move, arms folded. "Who was that old hag?"

"Fateen?" Wes asked casually, grateful for the change in subject. Thinking about Fateen made him uneasy, not angry. "What, afraid of a fortuneteller?" Shady didn't have to know that she made him just as nervous.

"You wish." Shady snapped. "Just wondering what all the hype was about. She's just an old bat."

"All of her predictions generally come true." Wes informed him mockingly. "Better let go of that burden, Shady."

"The only burden I have right now is _you_." Shady hissed, but then stopped, giving a smirk. "I'm not the one who should be worried, anyway. I'm not the one who has things coming for me."

Wes didn't reply, doing his best to keep a mask of indifference on his face. He still had no idea what Fateen had meant about anything.

"Everything's ready," Shady continued when Wes remained silent, giving him another knowing smirk, "so let's go." He turned and headed back towards Duking's house.

Wes remained still for a few moments longer, doing his best to quell his uneasiness and settle his nerves. Returning to the Shadow Pokemon Lab again was not going to be a walk in the park. He had plenty of people to rely on this time, but he had plenty of people to watch out for, Shady included. He had no idea if his clone would really hold up his end of the deal—sure, Shady wanted to blow up the lab, but Wes wasn't entirely sure if Shady wanted to include him in the building or not. But the plan was already set and everyone was ready to go, so it was time.

Wes headed back to Duking's, and tried not to think too much about anything else. If all went well and they were able to pull this off, Cipher would finally be finished for good.


End file.
